Epidemiology of head injury in rural Taiwan -a four year survey.

An epidemiological study of head injury in Hualien County, Taiwan, was undertaken from January 1, 1988 to December31, 1991. The age-adjusted incidence rate of head injury was 382/100 000, 499/100 000 for males and 244/100 000 for females. The highest incidence rate was observed in the elderly group 70 years or older. It is notable that 79% of head injuries were associated with traffic accidents, 75% of which directly involved motocycle use. The age-adjusted mortality rate was 89/100 000 per year, 125/100 000 for males and 47/100 000 for females. As to the severity of head injury, the elderly group presented the highest percentage of moderate to severe degrees of injury as well as mortality. The victims of motorcycle accidents and pedestrians had the highest percentage of relatively severe head injury. Hospitalised patients showed an outcome worse than that ever reported in the literature.