Prevalence and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms Within 6 Months After First-Time Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Depressive symptoms are among the most common neuropsychiatric sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Very few studies have compared correlates of depressive symptoms within the first 6 months of injury in cohorts experiencing their first TBI. The authors investigated whether the correlates of depressive symptoms (being female, older, lower education, having brain lesions, experiencing worse postconcussive symptoms, and incomplete functional recovery) that have been established in populations with moderate to severe TBI were the same for individuals with first-time mTBI within the first 6 months of recovery.

Two hundred seventeen individuals with first-time mTBI were divided into subgroups-new-onset depressive symptoms, recurrent depressive symptoms, prior depression history only, and never depressed-and compared on clinical and demographic variables and the presence of postconcussive symptoms and functional recovery at 3 and 6 months.

New-onset depressive symptoms developed in 12% of the cohort, whereas 11% of the cohort had recurrent depressive symptoms. Both depressive symptoms groups were more likely to comprise women and persons of color and were at higher risk for clinically significant postconcussive symptoms and incomplete functional recovery for the first 6 months postinjury.

Presence of depressive symptoms after first-time mTBI was associated with persistent postconcussive symptoms and incomplete functional recovery in the first 6 months. Adding to the existing literature, these findings identified correlates of depressive symptom development and poor outcomes after mTBI, thus providing further evidence that mTBI may produce persistent symptoms and functional limitations that warrant clinical attention.