TBI Increases the Risks for PTSD and Other Psychiatric Disorders

Although traumatic brain injury (TBI) in civilians has been linked to subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric conditions, no large prospective civilian or military study has examined links between TBI severity and risk for PTSD and other psychiatric conditions. Now, investigators have used data from a multiwave Army study; 7742 service members answered questionnaires at week 6 of deployment to Afghanistan, and 4645 provided data 1, 3, and 9 months after they returned.

Before deployment, 34% had histories of TBI, with 20% reporting ≥2 events. Rates during deployment, according to self-reports, were 13% for probable very mild TBI (dazed; no loss of consciousness or amnesia [LCA]) during deployment, 5% for probabl…