What Are the Consequences of Childhood TBI?

Because traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently occurs during childhood and adolescence, ascertaining whether consequences persist into adulthood is important. Using data on a Swedish birth cohort of 1,143,470 individuals born between 1973 and 1985, researchers identified people with a TBI by age 25, and followed them for multiple outcomes until age 45.

Of the cohort, 104,290 (9%) had sustained at least one TBI by age 25; 77% had mild TBIs, and 12% had recurrent injuries. Numerically, those with TBI were more likely male and to have been in households with “adverse psychosocial indicators” (e.g., low parental education and family income, lifetime parental psychiatric disorder, and criminal history).

In comparisons with 68,268 unaffected sibli…