COSIG CONFERENCE BROCHURE.pdf - Drexel University College ...

COSIG Co-Occurring Disorders Conference, Hershey PA, May 15-17, 2006
Who is the Typical Person With
TBI?
• 4:1 ratio, males to females
• 15 to 25 years of age
• 1.5 million brain injuries per year in
US
Adolescents and Young
Adults: Highest Rate
Aged: second highest
• Alcohol is the leading risk factor
TBI Causes
• Transportation Related
44%
• Falls 26%
• Other or unknown 13%
• Non Firearm Assaults 9%
• Firearms 8%
The Problem
There is a known relationship
between substance abuse and the
occurrence of a brain injury
Every 21 seconds, one person in the U.S. sustains a traumatic
brain injury
(Brain Injury Association)
The Problem
Defining The Problem
• Alcohol plays the greatest role in risk
for ABI (more than age, occupation, etc.)
• Alcohol complicates the ABI and
its recovery
• In acute settings, the extent of the problem may
not be known and the physical withdrawal
symptoms will have subsided
• 14% of admissions have a positive drug screens
upon admission
• 50-70% of moderate to severe brain
injuries involve ETOH at the time of injury
• 30-50% of moderate to severe TBI
survivors return to ETOH use
• 60% of mild TBI survivors have BAL
at injury
• 90% of mild TBI survivors return to
alcohol use
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