A recent study has reported that alcohol is associated with one in four traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in Ireland.¹  Trauma is the leading cause of death in Irish people aged under 45, and for every traumatic brain injury death at least two people survive with a permanent disability, which has as yet unmeasured personal, societal and economic consequences.

This study analysed the records of 2,095 patients attending the two neurosurgical units in Ireland – Beaumont Hospital and Cork University Hospital – over a two-year period. Men were three times more likely to be injured than women and one in six patients was aged between 16 and 24 years.