Any child can badly hit their head at any age, but the way that they hit their heads (or get hit on the head) changes as they grow. Small children generally get head injuries while falling down. Teenagers get head injuries from assaults, car accidents, and while playing sports.
Any serious hit on the head can cause traumatic brain injury, which is the leading cause of death and disability in children over age 1. Collecting information on how head injuries happen may help create interventions that are targeted to particular age groups, such as the use of seat belts and proper headgear for sports.
Researchers looked at information more than 43,000 children admitted to emergency rooms because of blunt force head trauma between 2004 and 2006. The data was collected from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. About 98% of the cases of head trauma that were reported were mild.
In children under age 2, the three leading causes of head injury were all from falls, including falls from a height; falls down stairs; and falls while standing, walking, or running. These caused 77% of all head injuries in children this age.
In children between the ages of 2 and 13, the top causes for head injury were falls from a height, falls while standing, walking or running, and being hit on the head. These caused 47% of head injuries in this age group.
But the most common causes for head injuries in teens were radically different. Assault caused 24% of head injuries in children aged 13 to 17. Sports accounted for another 19% of injuries, and being in a car accident accounted for another 18%.
The study also found that using seat belts and wearing bike helmets reduced the risk of traumatic brain injury.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
