According to researchers the risk of developing
PTSD increases after a mild traumatic brain injury. Researchers from a
variety of organizations which included Washington University in St.
Louis, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, San
Francisco General Hospital, and the
University of California, San
Francisco performed evaluations on various factors that were related to
mental health and functioning issues.
The hope is that understanding how
this type of injury affects mental health and contributes to PTSD and
other mental disorders will lead to better screening, more accurate
detection and diagnosis, and earlier treatment for post traumatic stress
disorder. The impact that mTBI had was explored in emergency services
providers who were civilians rather than evaluating the impact on
military personnel. In the study roughly 27% of patients who had
suffered mTBI screened positive for PTSD at a follow up screening 6
months after their injury.
The study on PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury was
published in the Journal of Neurotrauma and the findings show the
importance of following up after a mTBI. Medical College of Virginia
Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, professor and
Journal of Neurotrauma editor in chief John T. Povlishock, Ph.D.
explained “This study represents yet another important communication
originating from the CDC and the TRACK-TBI study group that now reframes
PTSD within the context of civilian TBI. The finding of a relatively
significant proportion of civilian patients experiencing PTSD following
mild TBI calls for its more routine evaluation, particularly in those
patients with the added comorbid factors identified in this report.”
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