The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new report, “Differences in State Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths, by Principal Mechanism of Injury, Intent, and Percentage of Population Living in Rural Areas-United States, 2016–2018,” that shows Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-related death rates are higher in the South and Midwest regions of the United States (U.S.). States with a higher percentage of people living in rural areas also had higher rates of TBI-related deaths during 2016–2018. Suicide and unintentional falls contributed the highest number of TBI-related deaths in most states. Some additional key findings from this report include:

• The South and Midwest regions had the highest rates of TBI-related deaths (19.2 per 100,000 and 18.1 per 100,000, respectively). The overall U.S. TBI-related death rate was 17.3 per 100,000.
• The Northeast and West regions had the lowest rates of TBI-related deaths (12.8 per 100,000 and 16.8 per 100,000, respectively).
• The lowest rate was in New Jersey (9.3 per 100,000), while the three highest state rates were in Alaska (34.8), Wyoming (32.6), and Montana (29.5).
• Suicide was responsible for the highest number and the highest rate of TBI-related deaths for most states.
• More than 40 percent of TBI-related deaths were due to homicides or suicides.