Phenotypes of Comorbidity in Epilepsy: Variation by TBI Severity and Deployment Status
Abstract
The proposed study will leverage data from an existing Department of Defense (DoD) funded Post-traumatic epilepsy study (W81XWH-16-2-0046) that is examining the relationship between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and epilepsy in deployed Post-9/11 Veterans. We will add to that study by identifying patterns of comorbidity in Post-9/11 deployed Veterans with epilepsy using latent class analysis, and by adding a cohort of non-deployed Post-9/11 Veterans who are also in VA care for the same analysis. As a result, with a small investment we will be able to identify specific phenotypes of comorbidity in Veterans with epilepsy and be able to determine if those patterns are different for individuals who 1) were deployed, where the likelihood of blast exposure is higher, and 2) have TBI exposure compared to those who do not. Finally, we will examine the extent to which these comorbidity phenotypes help explain premature death, and the specific cause of death in these individuals with epilepsy. These findings will have enormous implications for health care delivery for Veterans and Active Duty Service Members with epilepsy. For instance, the data may suggest that chronic disease is an important cause of death. This finding would suggest the importance of care coordination between primary care providers and neurologists/epileptologists providing subspecialty care for patients with epilepsy. In addition, data from this study can be used as a foundation to identify genetic markers that are associated with distinct epilepsy comorbidity phenotypes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1086388
Entities
People
- Mary Jo V Pugh