Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Research Letter: Characterizing Lifetime Mild TBI Exposure Among Female and Male Military Service Members and Veterans in the LIMBIC-CENC Study.

Walton SR, Oldham JR, Remigio-Baker RA, Brett BL, Austin TA, Cetin OD, Wilde EA, Lempke LB, Ou Z, Kamineni S, Martindale SL, O'Neil ME, Pugh MJ, Swanson RL, Pappadis MR, Cifu DX, Walker WC. Research Letter: Characterizing Lifetime Mild TBI Exposure Among Female and Male Military Service Members and Veterans in the LIMBIC-CENC Study. The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation. 2024 Jul 5.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To (1) characterize lifetime mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) exposures among male and female US military service members and Veterans (SMVs) and (2) evaluate sex-related differences in mild TBI exposures. SETTING: Clinical research laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were enrolled in the ongoing Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) Prospective Longitudinal Study. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. MAIN MEASURES: Lifetime history of mild TBI was measured via structured interview. All mild TBI characteristics were collected as part of this interview, including total lifetime number; environment (deployment vs. non-deployment); timing of injury (relative to military service and age); and mechanism of injury (blast-related vs. non-blast). RESULTS: Most participants (n =  2323; 87.5% male; 79.6% Veteran) reported = 1 lifetime mild TBI (n =  1912; 82%), among whom, many reported = 2 lifetime mild TBIs. Female SMVs reported fewer total lifetime mild TBIs than male participants (P <  0.001), including fewer deployment-related (P <  0.001) and non-deployment (P <  0.001) mild TBIs. There were significant sex differences for total number of mild TBIs sustained before (P =  0.005) and during (P <  0.001) military service but not after separation from military service (P =  0.99). Among participants with a lifetime history of mild TBI, female SMVs were less likely to report = 2 mTBIs (P =  0.003); however, male SMVs were more likely to report a mild TBI during military service (P =  0.03), including combat-related mild TBI (P <  0.001) and mild TBI involving blast (P <  0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings inform clinical and research efforts related to mild TBI in US military SMVs. It may not be sufficient to simply measure the total number of mild TBIs when seeking to compare clinical outcomes related to mild TBI between sexes; rather, it is important to measure and account for the timing, environment, and mechanisms associated with mild TBIs sustained by female and male SMVs.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.