Prevalence of Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidities Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of selected medical and psychiatric comorbidities that existed prior to, or up to 10 years following, traumatic brain injury (TBI) requiring acute rehabilitation.

Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: Six TBI Model Systems centers.

Participants: 404 participants in the TBI Model System National Database who experienced TBI 10 years prior.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measure: Self-reported medical and psychiatric comorbidities and the onset time of each endorsed comorbidity.

Results: At 10 years post-injury, the most common comorbidities developing post-injury, in order, were: back pain, depression, hypertension, anxiety, fractures, high blood cholesterol, sleep disorders, panic attacks, osteoarthritis, and diabetes. Comparing those 50 years and older to those less than 50 years, diabetes (OR = 3.54; p = 0.0016), high blood cholesterol (OR = 2.04; p = 0.0092), osteoarthritis (OR = 2.02; p = 0.0454), and hypertension (OR = 1.84; p = 0.0175) were significantly more prevalent in the older cohort while panic attacks (OR = 0.33; p = 0.0022) were significantly more prevalent in the younger cohort. No significant differences in prevalence rates between the older and younger cohorts were found for back pain, depression, anxiety, fractures, or sleep disorders.

Conclusions: People with moderate-severe TBI experience other medical and mental health comorbidities during the long-term course of recovery and life after injury. The findings can inform further investigation into comorbidities associated with TBI and the role of medical care, surveillance, prevention, lifestyle, and healthy behaviors in potentially modifying their presence and/or prevalence over the life span.