Traumatic brain injury linked with increased risk for premature death

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) have a higher risk of premature death, particularly from suicides, injuries and assaults, according to a study by Seena Fazel, M.D., of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, and colleagues. TBI is a substantial cause of disability, according to the study background. Researchers studied all patients born in 1954 or later in Sweden who were diagnosed with TBI from 1969 to 2009 (n=218,300). Among 11,053 patients with premature death after TBI, 2,378 (21.5 percent) died six months or later after diagnosis.