{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T17:51:38Z","timestamp":1785520298858,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]],"date-time":"2025-07-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751587200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in high-income countries, and globally, the incidence of fall-related injuries is projected to rise. In this study, we compare TBI resulting from stair-related falls (SRFs) to falls from standing height (FSH), analyzing their epidemiology and outcomes.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>In a single-center, registry-based cohort study using the Oslo TBI Registry-Neurosurgery (OTBIR-N), we identified adults (\u226518\u202fyears) admitted to Oslo University Hospital with TBI from either SRFs or FSH between 2015 and 2022. Epidemiology and outcome measures were compared between the two groups, and a multivariate logistic regression model was used to evaluate the adjusted effect of the fall mechanisms on dichotomized functional outcome (Glasgow outcome score (GOS) 1\u20133 vs. GOS 4\u20135).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 1,432 patients with a median age of 71\u202fyears were included. SRFs represented 25%, while FSH represented 52% of all fall-related TBIs. SRF patients were generally younger and healthier, with a higher frequency of moderate to severe TBI than FSH patients (53% vs. 31%; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). SRFs also occurred more often during evenings and nights, on weekends, and were more often related to alcohol influence (58% vs. 22%; p\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Both fall types resulted in unfavorable functional outcomes (GOS 1\u20133) for a substantial proportion of patients (37% in SRFs and 42% in FSH; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.066). When adjusting for covariates in the multivariable logistic regression model, there was a tendency of SRFs being associated with unfavorable outcomes compared to FSH, but the effect was not statistically significant (OR 1.43, 95%CI 0.97\u20132.12; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.073).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>SRFs represented a considerable proportion of fall-related TBIs and were associated with poor outcomes in a substantial proportion of patients. Targeted public awareness campaigns addressing the risks associated with staircases, especially when combined with alcohol influence, seem warranted to prevent such injuries.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2025.1599229","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]],"date-time":"2025-07-04T05:19:51Z","timestamp":1751606391000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Comparison of traumatic brain injury resulting from stair-related falls to falls from standing height\u2014a neurotrauma center cohort"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Cathrine","family":"Tverdal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrew","family":"Reiner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eirik","family":"Helseth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Torgeir","family":"Hellstr\u00f8m","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Unn Sollid","family":"Manskow","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mads","family":"Aarhus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karoline","family":"Skogen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"P\u00e5l","family":"R\u00f8nning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dag Ferner","family":"Netteland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(18)30415-0","article-title":"Global, regional, and national burden of traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury, 1990\u20132016: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2016","volume":"18","author":"James","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(24)00454-X","article-title":"Unique considerations in the assessment and management of traumatic brain injury in older adults","volume":"24","author":"Depreitere","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e1003761","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.1003761","article-title":"The burden of traumatic brain injury from low-energy falls among patients from 18 countries in the CENTER-TBI registry: A comparative cohort study","volume":"18","author":"Lecky","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS Med"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"768","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(22)00307-6","article-title":"Traumatic brain injury over the past 20 years: research and clinical progress","volume":"21","author":"Maas","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"923","DOI":"10.1016\/S1474-4422(19)30232-7","article-title":"Case-mix, care pathways, and outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury in CENTER-TBI: a European prospective, multicentre, longitudinal, cohort study","volume":"18","author":"Steyerberg","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1186\/s40621-020-00269-8","article-title":"Characteristics of traumatic brain injury patients with abnormal neuroimaging in Southeast Norway","volume":"7","author":"Tverdal","year":"2020","journal-title":"Inj Epidemiol"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Step safely: Strategies for preventing and managing falls across the life-course","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2013.02.009","article-title":"Risk factors for falls among older adults: a review of the literature","volume":"75","author":"Ambrose","year":"2013","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"Skader og ulykker i Norge. 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