Brain Trauma Raises Risk Of Later PTSD In Active-Duty Marines

In a novel study of U.S. Marines investigating the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) over time, a team of scientists led by researchers from the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that TBIs suffered during active-duty deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan were the greatest predictor for subsequent PTSD, but found pre-deployment PTSD symptoms and high combat intensity were also significant factors.

The findings are published in the December 11 online issue of JAMA Psychiatry.

The team, headed by principal investigator Dewleen G. Baker, MD, research director at the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and a practicing psychiatrist in the VA San Diego Healthcare System, analyzed 1,648 active-duty Marines and Navy servicemen from four infantry battalions of the First Marine Division based at Camp Pendleton in north San Diego County. The servicemen were evaluated approximately one month before a scheduled 7-month deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, one week after deployment had concluded, and again three and six months later.