A 2002 study that compared data for elderly patients 65 years and older with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) to data from nonelderly patients with similar injuries concluded, “Elderly traumatic brain injury patients have a worse mortality and functional outcome than nonelderly patients who present with head injury even though their head injury and overall injuries are seemingly less severe.” Because May is Older Americans Month we have been focusing this week on TBI prevention for people aged 65 and older, an age group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says is among the most likely to sustain a TBI. If a parent, grandparent or other older family member recently sustained a fall, the CDC says these may be signs and symptoms of a possible TBI: Low-grade headache that won’t go away Having more trouble than usual remembering things, paying attention or concentrating, organizing daily tasks, or making…
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Elderly TBI Patients Have ‘Worse Mortality and Functional Outcome Even Though Injuries are Seemingly Less Severe’
May 11th, 201210 Ways to Help Prevent TBIs Among Older Americans
May 9th, 2012As we started to discuss on Monday, May is Older Americans Month and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a special health concern for older adults, since people aged 65 and older are among the most likely to sustain a TBI. Furthermore, the CDC also notes that people 75 years of age and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and death, as people in this age group recover more slowly and die more often from these injuries than do younger people. The CDC also notes that falls are the most common cause of TBI among older adults. While you cannot see a TBI in an older person, there are steps you can take to help prevent an older person from sustaining a TBI. The Brain Injury Association of Indiana (BIAI) provides these 10 things you can do to help prevent…
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‘Older Americans Month’ Provides Opportunity to Prevent TBIs in Vulnerable Group
May 7th, 2012Over the past couple of weeks, we have spent a lot of time discussing traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in regards to children, but it is important to remember that another group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says are most likely to sustain a TBI are adults aged 65 and older. May happens to be Older Americans Month, which was first established in 1963 and was originally called Senior Citizens Month until President Jimmy Carter’s designation in 1980. According to the Administration on Aging (AoA), every president since John F. Kennedy has issued a formal proclamation during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation pay tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. According to the Brain Injury Association of Indiana (BIAI), one in three Americans aged 65 and older suffers a fall each year and 30 percent of these falls…
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