PTSD and MTBI in Veterans Study
Pietrzak and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Mediates the Relationship Between Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Health and Psychosocial Functioning in Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2009;197(10):748-753).
The study, from Yale University, evaluated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) mediated the relationship between mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and general health ratings, psychosocial functioning, and perceived barriers to receiving mental healthcare 2 years following return from deployment in veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).
"Compared with respondents who screened negative for MTBI, respondents who screened positive for MTBI were younger, more likely to have PTSD, more likely to report fair/poor overall health and unmet medical and psychological needs, and scored higher on measures of psychosocial difficulties and perceived barriers to mental healthcare. Injuries involving loss of consciousness were associated with greater work-related difficulties and unmet psychological needs. PTSD mediated the relationship between MTBI and all of these outcomes."
The researchers concluded: "These results underscore the importance of assessing PTSD in OEF/OIF veterans who screen positive for MTBI."
For additional information, contact R.H. Pietrzak, Yale University, School Medical, National Center PTSD, VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems, 950 Campbell Avenue 151E, West Haven, CT 06516, USA.
