{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T05:08:50Z","timestamp":1779167330452,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":8,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779148800000},"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>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Neurotrauma, encompassing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal trauma, remains a significant global cause of mortality and morbidity. Socioeconomic deprivation is associated with higher injury incidence and poorer outcomes, though gradients vary across healthcare systems. This study examines neurotrauma admission disparities across socioeconomic and demographic groups in Scotland over a 6-year period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A national population-based analysis of neurotrauma admissions in Scotland from 2014 to 2020 was conducted using data from Public Health Scotland. Admissions were categorized by sex, age group, injury severity (minor, moderate, major), and socioeconomic status using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), where Quintile 1 represents the most deprived and Quintile 5 the least deprived areas. Year-on-year incidence trends, demographic patterns, and length of stay (LOS) were analyzed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Total neurotrauma admissions increased from 1,098 in 2014 to 2,428 in 2020. A consistent socioeconomic gradient was observed across all injury severities: the most deprived group (SIMD 1) accounted for the highest proportion of admissions annually, while the least deprived (SIMD 5) had the lowest. Males demonstrated higher admission numbers than females across all severity levels. Age-related patterns revealed patients aged &amp;lt;16 years had the highest proportion of head injuries (73.0%), whereas those aged 16\u201344 and 45\u201354 had higher proportions of spinal injuries (48.9 and 48.4% respectively). Longer hospital stays were associated with greater deprivation, even after adjusting for age and injury severity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Substantial and persistent socioeconomic gradients exist in neurotrauma admissions across Scotland, with the most deprived communities bearing the greatest burden. These disparities persist despite universal healthcare coverage, suggesting deprivation influences injury exposure, resilience, and recovery pathways. Findings support targeted prevention strategies for high-risk groups and resource allocation informed by area-based deprivation indices to address neurotrauma as both a clinical and public health challenge.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1824343","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T04:21:33Z","timestamp":1779164493000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Neurotrauma admission disparities in Scotland: a 6-year analysis of socioeconomic and demographic trends"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Andreas K.","family":"Demetriades","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Scottish Acquired Brain Injury Network (SABIN), NHS Scotland","place":["Edinburgh, United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Edinburgh Spinal Surgery Outcome Studies Group, Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, NHS Lothian","place":["Edinburgh, United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center","place":["Leiden, Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wilco","family":"Peul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Center","place":["Leiden, Netherlands"]},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Haaglanden Medical Center","place":["The Hague, Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","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, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study","volume":"18","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet Neurol"},{"key":"B2","unstructured":"Scottish Trauma Network"},{"key":"B3","unstructured":"Scottish Trauma Network regions"},{"key":"B4","unstructured":"Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults Service Mapping Report, 2019-20."},{"key":"B5","unstructured":"Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.1002\/bjs.8982","article-title":"Rural and urban distribution of trauma incidents in Scotland","volume":"100","author":"Morrison","year":"2013","journal-title":"BJS."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1873","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(25)01637-X","article-title":"Burden of 375 diseases and injuries, risk-attributable burden of 88 risk factors, and healthy life expectancy in 204 countries and territories, including 660 subnational locations, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023","volume":"406","year":"2025","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"112948","DOI":"10.1016\/j.injury.2025.112948","article-title":"The interplay of social determinants of health and long-term disability after traumatic brain injury","volume":"57","author":"Demetriades","year":"2026","journal-title":"Injury."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Neurology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fneur.2026.1824343\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T04:21:35Z","timestamp":1779164495000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fneur.2026.1824343\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"references-count":8,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fneur.2026.1824343"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fneur.2026.1824343","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-2295"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-2295","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"article-number":"1824343"}}