Effects of blast exposure on psychiatric and health symptoms in combat veterans

Blast exposure is common among service members, but the chronic psychiatric effects associated with blast exposure are not well-characterized independent of a resulting mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). This analysis evaluated whether blast exposure severity was independently associated with or exacerbated symptom report beyond posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild TBI. Participants were Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans (N = 275; 86.55% male), 71.27% with history of blast exposure, 29.82% current diagnosis of PTSD, and 45.45% with mild TBI. All participants completed diagnostic interviews for PTSD, lifetime TBI, and lifetime blast exposure. Self-reported psychiatric and health outcomes included posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, neurobehavioral symptoms, sleep quality, pain interference, and quality of life. Blast severity was associated with PTSD (B = 2.00), depressive (B = 0.76), and neurobehavioral (B = 1.69) symptoms beyond PTSD diagnosis and mild TBI history. Further, blast severity accounted entirely (i.e., indirect/mediation effect) for the association between TBI and posttraumatic stress (B = 1.62), depressive (B = 0.61), and neurobehavioral (B = 1.38) symptoms. No interaction effects were present. Exposure to blast is an independent factor influencing psychiatric symptoms in veterans beyond PTSD and mild TBI. Results highlight that blast exposure severity may be a more relevant risk factor than deployment mild TBI in combat veterans and should be considered in the etiology of psychiatric symptom presentation and complaints. Further, severity of psychological distress due to the combat environment may be an explanatory mechanism by which blast exposure mediates the relationship between mild TBI and symptom outcomes.