Alcohol Abuse Disorders Among U.S. Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has emerged as a preeminent injury in Iraq and Afghanistan. The relationship between TBI and post-injury alcohol use in military personnel has not been clearly defined. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of alcohol abuse disorders among combat-injured service members with mild TBI (MTBI). Male U.S. service members with combat injuries were identified from the expeditionary Medical Encounter Database (n=3,123). Diagnoses of alcohol abuse disorders were collected from the standard inpatient and ambulatory data records. Overall, a slightly higher proportion of service members with MTBI were diagnosed with an alcohol abuse disorder compared to those with other injury (6.1% vs.. 4.9%). In a multivariate analysis, however, it was found that MTBI was not associated with higher levels of alcohol abuse (odds ration, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.90, 1.70). To better define the consequences of MTBI, future research should include other alcohol dependency measures along with comorbid mental health disorders.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA538865
Entities
People
- Amber L. Dougherty
- Andrew J. MacGregor
- Kevin J. Heltemes
- Michael R. Galarneau
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center