Symptom Complaints Following Combat-Related Traumatic Brain Injury: Relationship to Traumatic Brain Injury Severity and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Patients with a history of mild ( n = 134) or moderate-to-severe ( n = 91) TBI were asked to complete the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist. Consistent with prior research, significantly more postconcussion symptoms were endorsed by the mild group. After controlling for age, time since injury, and mechanism of injury, TBI severity continued to be signifi cantly related to postconcussion complaints on the NSI. However after controlling for these same variables, along with posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity, there no longer were differences between the TBI severity groups. That is, patients with mild TBI did not endorse signifi cantly more complaints (adjusted mean = 22.4) than the moderate-to-severe group (adjusted mean = 21.8). These findings suggest that much of the symptom complaints in mildly injured patients may be due to emotional distress. ( JINS , 2009, 16, 194-199.)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA532921

Entities

People

  • Heather G. Belanger
  • Louis M French
  • Rodney D. Vanderploeg
  • Tracy Kretzmer

Organizations

  • Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Behavioral Sciences
  • Brain Injuries
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Health
  • Health Services
  • Magnetic Resonance
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Personnel
  • Pain
  • Psychology
  • Statistical Tests

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.