Symptoms and Engagement in Anti-social Behavior 10 Years After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Within a Community Civilian Sample: A Prospective Cohort Study With Age-Sex Matched Control Group

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine if there are longer-term effects on symptoms, health status, mood, and behavior 10 years after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). DesignProspective cohort study. SettingCommunity-based, civilian sample. ParticipantsAdults aged ≥16 years at follow-up who experienced an mTBI 10 years ago, and an age and sex-matched non-injured control group. InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresmTBI cases and controls were asked to complete self-report assessments of functioning (WHO Disability Assessment Schedule Version 2), symptoms (Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire), health status (100-point scale), alcohol (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) and substance use (Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test), and whether they had engaged in any anti-social behaviors over the past 12 months. ResultsData were analyzed for 368 participants (184 mTBI cases and 184 age-sex matched controls). Just over a third of mTBI cases (64, 34.8%) reported that they were still affected by their index mTBI 10 years later. After adjusting for education and ethnicity, the mTBI group had statistically higher overall symptom burden (F=22.32, P<.001, ηp2=0.07) compared with controls. This difference remained after excluding those who experienced a recurrent TBI. The mTBI group were more than 3 times as likely to have engaged in anti-social behavior during the previous 12 months (F=5.89, P=.02). There were no group differences in health status, functioning, or problematic alcohol or substance use 10 years post-injury. ConclusionsThis study provides evidence of potential longer-term associations between mTBI, post-concussion symptoms, and anti-social behavior which warrants further evaluation. Future research should also examine if longer-term effects may be preventable with access to early rehabilitation post-injury.