A new study has found that older people who have ever suffered moderate or severe head injuries
have twice the mortality rate compared to those who did not.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, after 32 years of studying data from 13,000 people, found that people who had any type of head injury had a 2.21 times higher death rate than those who did not.
The participants were selected from four communities in Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina and Mississippi with an average age of 54 years. 57 percent of the participants were women and 28 percent were black.
Those who had severe or multiple head injuries had a 2.87 higher mortality rate than those who did not have a head injury.
Head injuries (usually caused by a car collision, accidental fall, or sports) are also associated with long-term health problems. These problems include disability, epilepsy, dementia, and stroke.
According to the report, the results of the research illustrate the importance of a public health strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality through prevention of head injury and immediate medical attention.
