An accident that leads to any kind of brain injury is surely always traumatic. And now, a pair of recent studies also points to the fact that when a child suffers from a traumatic brain injury in life, their development can continue to be effected for some time to come.

One of these studies looked at children that sustained a brain injury before the age of 3, and the other study looked at children who sustained those injuries between the ages of 2 and 7. Both were published in the medical journal Pediatrics.

The first study concluded that those children who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury before the age of 3 went on to have lower intellectual function. However, the study also found that in those severe cases, socioeconomic status appeared to play a rather large role. And while there is no concrete reason for this, researchers believe that it has something to do with those with less money having more parental stress and less involvement in the recovery of their child.

In this study, researchers compared the intellectual function of children who had been injured, to those who had not. Of the kids who did suffer from brain injuries earlier in life, most were the result of a fall -- which is common among babies and toddlers who still do not have the best balance.

The other study examined children with more severe forms of brain injuries -- generally due to motor vehicle accidents, or being hit by a car. These children were between the ages of 2 and 7 at the time of the accident.

Researchers examined the children 12 and 30 months following their injury, and again 10 years later. While their intellectual capacity continued to grow, researchers found a definite lag between the children who suffered from the severe brain injuries and their peers who did not.

Overall, these two studies appear to show that there is a correlation between suffering from a brain injury earlier in life and slowed development, and that the biggest factor in this lag is due to the severity of the brain injury.

Source: CNN, "Severe traumatic brain injury affects development in young children," Caitlin Hagan, Jan. 23, 2012