Associations Between Multiple Remote Mild TBIs and Objective Neuropsychological Functioning and Subjective Symptoms in Combat-Exposed Veterans.
Arch Clin Neuropsychol
; 35(5): 491-505, 2020 Jul 24.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32128559
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between multiple mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) and objective and subjective clinical outcomes in a sample of combat-exposed Veterans, adjusting for psychiatric distress and combat exposure.METHOD:
In this cross-sectional study, 73 combat-exposed Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans were divided into three groups based on mTBI history 0 mTBIs (n = 31), 1-2 mTBIs (n = 21), and 3+ mTBIs (n = 21). Veterans with mTBI were assessed, on average, 7.78 years following their most recent mTBI. Participants underwent neuropsychological testing and completed self-report measures assessing neurobehavioral, sleep, and pain symptoms.RESULTS:
MANCOVAs adjusting for psychiatric distress and combat exposure showed no group differences on objective measures of attention/working memory, executive functioning, memory, and processing speed (all p's > .05; ηp2 = .00-.06). In contrast, there were significant group differences on neurobehavioral symptoms (p's = < .001-.036; ηp2 = .09-.43), sleep difficulties (p = .037; ηp2 = .09), and pain symptoms (p < .001; ηp2 = .21). Pairwise comparisons generally showed that the 3+ mTBI group self-reported the most severe symptoms, followed by comparable symptom reporting between the 0 and 1-2 mTBI groups.CONCLUSIONS:
History of multiple, remote mTBIs is associated with elevated subjective symptoms but not objective neuropsychological functioning in combat-exposed Veterans. These results advance understanding of the long-term consequences of repetitive mTBI in this population and suggest that Veterans with 3+ mTBIs may especially benefit from tailored treatments aimed at ameliorating specific neurobehavioral, sleep, and pain symptoms.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Veterans
/
Brain Injuries, Traumatic
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Arch Clin Neuropsychol
Journal subject:
NEUROLOGIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Estados Unidos