Potential Effects of a Moderate or Severe TBI
A moderate or severe TBI may result in an extended period of unconsciousness (coma) or amnesia. The effects of a moderate or severe TBI are different for each person and may change during recovery. Most people will have one or more health problems after the injury that may include:
- Physical symptoms
- Problems with thinking and learning, and
- Changes in motor skills, hearing, vision, emotions/mood, or behavior1
Symptoms of moderate or severe TBI
Thinking and Learning
Thinking and Learning
Motor Skills, Hearing, and Vision
Motor Skills, Hearing, and Vision
Emotion/Mood
Emotion/Mood
Behavior
Behavior
Difficulty understanding and thinking clearly
Difficulty understanding and thinking clearly
Weakness in arms and legs
Weakness in arms and legs
Feeling more emotional than usual
Feeling more emotional than usual
Trouble controlling behavior
Trouble controlling behavior
Trouble communicating and learning skills
Trouble communicating and learning skills
Problems with coordination and balance
Problems with coordination and balance
Nervousness or anxiety
Nervousness or anxiety
Personality changes
Personality changes
Problems concentrating
Problems concentrating
Problems with hearing and vision
Problems with hearing and vision
Feeling more angry or aggressive than usual
Feeling more angry or aggressive than usual
More impulsive than usual
More impulsive than usual
Difficulty remembering information
Difficulty remembering information
Changes in sensory perception, such as touch
Changes in sensory perception, such as touch
Sadness, depression
Sadness, depression
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Even after surviving a moderate or severe TBI and receiving inpatient rehabilitation services, a person’s life expectancy is 9 years shorter. TBI increases the risk of dying from several causes. Compared to people without TBI, people with TBI are more likely to die from:
After inpatient rehabilitation for TBI, the following groups are more likely to die sooner:
- Older adults
- Men
- Unemployed
- People who are not married
- People with fewer years of education
- People with more severe TBI
- People with fall-related TBI
In addition, people with moderate to severe TBI typically face a variety of chronic health problems. These issues add costs and burdens to people with TBI, their families, and society. Among those still alive 5 years after injury:
- 57% are moderately or severely disabled.
- 55% do not have a job (but were employed at the same time of their injury)
- 50% return to a hospital at least once
- 33% rely on others for help with everyday activities
- 29% are not satisfied with life
- 29% use illicit drugs or misuse alcohol
- 12% reside in nursing homes or other institutions
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Report to Congress on traumatic brain injury in the United States: Epidemiology and rehabilitation. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2015.
- Corrigan JD, Cuthbert JP, Harrison-Felix C, et al. US population estimates of health and social outcomes 5 years after rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2014;29(6):E1-9.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health. Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury is a Lifelong Condition. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pdf/Moderate_to_Severe_TBI_Lifelong-a.pdf.
- Goldman SM, Kamel F, Ross GW, et al. Head injury, alpha-synuclein Rep1, and Parkinson’s disease. Ann Neurol 2012;71:40–8.
