Suicide and Traumatic Brain Injury Among Individuals Seeking Veterans Health Administration Services Between Fiscal Years 2006 and 2015
Abstract
Examine associations between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and (1) suicide and (2) suicide method among individuals receiving Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care. VHA, Fiscal Years 2006-2015. Veterans with a TBI diagnosis during/prior to the study window (n = 215 610), compared with a 20% random sample of those without TBI (n = 1 187 639). Retrospective, cohort study. Cox proportional hazards models were fit accounting for time-dependent measures, chronic conditions, and demographics for those with TBI compared with those without. Additional models evaluated the impact of TBI severity on the association between TBI and suicide, and method. Death by and method of suicide. The hazard of suicide was 2.19 times higher for those with TBI than for those without TBI (95% CI = 2.02-2.37), and was still significant after accounting for covariates (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.56-1.87). Considering severity, mild TBI compared with no TBI was significantly associated with an elevated hazard of suicide, after adjusting for covariates (HR = 1.62; 95% CI = 1.47-1.78). There was also a significant difference in death by suicide between moderate/severe TBI when compared with no TBI, after adjusting for covari...Continue Reading
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Suicide and traumatic brain injury among individuals seeking Veterans Health Administration services
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Brain Injury & Trauma
brain injury after impact to the head is due to both immediate mechanical effects and delayed responses of neural tissues.