Statistics
Using hospital admissions statistics, Headway has compiled the first dataset on all ABI-related hospital admissions in the UK. These include non-superficial head injuries, strokes, brain tumours, encephalitis, and a variety of additional conditions.
This is the first time a picture of incidence rates for all ABI in the UK has been published, with the figures highlighting a concerning growth in the number of people sustaining injuries to the brain each year.
You can view the key findings of our research below, or visit the statistics resources page to access the full reports and data sets.
Key findings
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There were 348,453 UK admissions to hospital with acquired brain injury in 2016-17. That is 531 admissions per 100,000 of the population. |
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ABI admissions in the UK have increased by 10% since 2005-6 |
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There were approximately 954 ABI admissions per day to UK hospitals in 2016-17 – or one every 90 seconds. |
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In 2016-17, there were 155,919 admissions for head injury. That equates to 427 every day, or one every three minutes. |
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Men are 1.5 times more likely than women to be admitted for head injury. However, female head injury admissions have risen 23% since 2005-6. |
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In 2016-17, there were 132,199 admissions for stroke. That is an increase of 10% since 2005-6 and equates to one every four minutes. |
The number of females being admitted to hospitals in the UK with non-superficial head injuries has risen by a shocking 23% since 2005-06, according to new statistics issued by brain injury charity Headway.
While males remain 1.5 times more likely to be admitted for a head injury, the data reveals that women are increasingly at risk and appear to be catching up with their male counterparts.
The statistics also reveal that the number of people admitted to the hospital in the UK with an acquired brain injury (ABI) related diagnosis has increased by 10% since 2005-06.
"Headway's work does provide the clearest picture to date of the pool of people who require support, from short-term advice and information, to long-term inpatient rehabilitation"
- Professor Alan Tenant, Emeritus Professor of Rehabilitation Studies, University of Leeds
United Kingdom totals
The table below shows the total admissions for all types of ABI in the UK since 2005. It also gives the % change over this period and the rates, which show the number of admissions per 100,000 of the population.
| Year | Male | Rate | Female | Rate | Unknown | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 184,776 | 625 | 132,370 | 429 | 37 | 317,183 | 525 |
| 2006-07 | 188,755 | 634 | 133,293 | 429 | 37 | 322,085 | 530 |
| 2007-08 | 188,285 | 627 | 134,416 | 430 | 32 | 322,733 | 526 |
| 2008-09 | 191,368 | 632 | 138,646 | 440 | 31 | 330,044 | 534 |
| 2009-10 | 198,483 | 653 | 147,257 | 468 | 45 | 345,785 | 559 |
| 2010-11 | 199,652 | 651 | 148,726 | 470 | 30 | 348,408 | 559 |
| 2011-12 | 200,650 | 645 | 151,289 | 470 | 15 | 351,954 | 556 |
| 2012-13 | 192,009 | 613 | 150,649 | 465 | 15 | 342,673 | 538 |
| 2013-14 | 194,734 | 618 | 154,169 | 473 | 31 | 348,934 | 544 |
| 2014-15 | 194,648 | 612 | 155,916 | 475 | 32 | 350,596 | 543 |
| 2015-16 | 194,993 | 607 | 156,804 | 475 | 46 | 351,843 | 540 |
| 2016-17 | 192,807 | 595 | 155,593 | 468 | 53 | 348,453 | 531 |
| Change since 2005 % | 4 | -5 | 18 | 9 | 43 | 10 | 1 |
Further information
You can download the full report and infographic in the related links section for more details.
We have also made the full data tables available for public use. This allows you to see the fine detail of hospital admissions by type of brain injury, age, year and location. This detailed information can be manipulated to your needs, and will support a wide range of brain injury-related needs from funding applications to service planning and campaigning.
Visit the statistics resources page for further details.
Our infographic is an ideal tool for raising awareness of brain injury, designed to give a quick, accessible overview of the key finding of our new statistics. It includes total admission figures by condition and geographical region as well as some of the trends we identified.
