Mental Health After War-zone Concussions Predicts Disability

New research indicates that early symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are a strong indicator of future long-term disability, stemming from concussion or similar damage. Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently published a study in the journal Brain detailing their evaluations of recently injured active-duty soldiers, with follow-ups later on. This is the first study of its kind to evaluate able-bodied and active soldiers in the field, rather than severely-injured personnel in medical treatment. In order to determine long term warning signs, 38 participants of varying ages, cognition and thinking skills were evaluated two separate times. “Most previous studies have hypothesized that things such as duration of loss of consciousness, duration of post-traumatic amnesia and how well patients could perform tasks of thinking, memory, attention, balance and coordination would be the predictors of later disability,” the lead researcher said. “We looked at these factors. And they were not strongly correlated with how well patients did long term.” Results concluded that mild signs of PTSD were found in individuals who later required more serious care for both brain damage as well as psychological distress. Researchers hope that this finding will augment existing evaluation methods to prevent further damage to afflicted individuals. To learn more about this study, click here.