Non-fatal, Work-related, Traumatic Brain Injury Minnesota, 1999-2008

Background and Objective: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health issue. In Minnesota, more than 10,000 cases of hospital-treated TBI are reported annually. The objective of this investigation is to understand the trend of work-related TBI in Minnesota. Methods: The target population was hospitalized cases from the state-wide TBI registry, 1999 to 2008. A total of 1,722 eligible cases were identified, being at least 18 years old and injured while working for income. TBI injury rates were calculated by using the numbers of TBI cases as the numerator and employed persons in Minnesota as the denominator. Results: Among occupational TBI cases, the majority was male (76%). Rates peaked in 2000 and 2004, and decreased during the recently observed years (2005-2008). Most occurred in those age 35 to 44 (21%). The top three places of occurrence were home, industrial place/premises, and street/highway. By discharge status and GOS outcome, 72% returned “home, self care” - 82% of those had a GOS “good recovery”; 8% of all cases survived with other than GOS “good recovery”; 3 cases died. Conclusions These findings identify the trend and emphasize the importance of work-related TBI as a public health problem and are consistent with CDC reports. However, there was incomplete reporting for race, ethnicity, job titles, AVPU and Glasgow Coma Scale. While this analysis included only hospital discharge data, future efforts might link MDH TBI registry data with Department of Labor data in order to conduct a more comprehensive study of occupational TBI in Minnesota.