Symptomatic Recovery from Concussion in Military Service Members with and Without Associated Bodily Injuries

Research has found that service members (SMs) with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and co-occurring bodily injuries endorse lower chronic postconcussive symptom severity than SMs with mTBI and no bodily injuries. Investigations were conducted with primarily post-9/11 war-era SMs with blast injuries. The current study explores these findings in a cohort of more heterogeneous and recently evaluated military SM. Possible reasons suggested for the earlier findings include SMs with bodily injuries report fewer postconcussive symptoms due to (1) focusing attention on extra-cranial injuries and associated pain; (2) receiving more interpersonal and medical support, lowering distress; (3) using analgesics such as morphine or opioids; or (4) experiencing delayed postconcussive symptoms. The current investigation evaluates each of these hypothesized reasons for the earlier findings and the generalizability of the findings to a more recent sample. Data were extracted from 165 SMs in a TBI repository at a U.S. military medical center. All participants reported a history of an mTBI, confirmed by a clinical interview to meet Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense criteria. Other bodily injuries received at the time of the mTBI were documented with the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Multiple regression models evaluated the ability of the four hypothesized mechanisms to predict postconcussive symptom severity, measured by the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory. SMs with bodily injuries (n = 48) reported nonsignificantly lower postconcussive symptoms than SMs with no bodily injuries (n = 117). The level of subjective pain was a determinant of postconcussive symptom severity among SMs with a history of mTBI, with or without associated bodily injuries. Social support was a weaker negative predictor of postconcussive symptoms among SMs with no associated bodily injuries.