New Study Reveals Children Who Suffer TBI to Face Serious Issues Later in Life

A new study published online Aug. 23 in the journal  PLOS Medicine suggests that young people who suffer traumatic brain injury are more likely to have serious issues later on in life.

Read More: Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney in Wisconsin

Those issues, according to the study, include premature death and psychiatric problems.

“Researchers compared 100,000 Swedes who suffered at least one traumatic brain injury(TBI) before age 25 with their unaffected siblings. The investigators found that those who had had head injuries were consistently more likely to die early and have problems functioning as adults,” an article in the Lincoln Journal Star reads. “The effects of an early life TBI — a blow to the head or penetrating head injury that disrupts brain function — were more striking among those who were older when they were injured, whose injury was more severe, or who had repeated head injuries, the findings showed.”

The key findings show that the increased risk remained elevated after comparison with unaffected siblings – which establishes the theory that the outcomes are likely due to the traumatic brain injury.

“The worst outcome is clearly premature mortality,” Dr. Seena Fazel said in the article. Fazel is a professor of forensic psychiatry at the University of Oxford in England.”But after that the increased risks of psychiatric hospitalization are notable.”

About 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Motor vehicle crashes and falls are the leading causes of TBI.

“Fazel and his colleagues analyzed long-term data of cases in which most patients had one mild head injury, or concussion. Participants, who were born between 1973 and 1985, were 13 years old on average when they were hurt. After age 26, they were followed for an average of eight years,” the article reads. “Previous research on long-term health of people with TBI has addressed more severe injuries and diagnoses. But Fazel noted that his study uncovered risks from even mild head injuries.

TBI was consistently linked to premature death, psychiatric treatment and low educational attainment. Those who suffered TBI were also more likely to wind up on welfare or dependent on disability pensions.