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Study suggests possible link between TBI in youth and increased risk of psychiatric illness (30 August 2016)

Date: 30/08/2016
Duncan Lewis, Mental Health Solicitors, Study suggests possible link between TBI in youth and increased risk of psychiatric illness

UK, US and Swedish researchers have found that sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a child or as a young adult might increase the risk of health problems in adult life, including a higher risk for mental health conditions.

Researchers from Oxford University, Imperial College London, Indiana University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden were funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Swedish Research Council and National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.

The researchers followed up a total of 1,143,470 people born in Sweden between 1973 and 1985 – and checked whether they had been treated for a brain injury causing concussion before the age of 25.

The team then looked at a range of outcomes in adulthood – including poor educational achievement and early death.

After adjusting their figures to account for family circumstances, the researchers found that those who had sustained a head injury were slightly more likely to be receiving a disability pension, or to have been treated for psychiatric illness, not to have secondary school qualifications – or were more likely to have died before the age of 41.

Older children, those with more severe head injuries – and those who had more than one head injury – were more likely to be affected, the researchers found.

However, other factors not considered in the review might also have had an effect – for example, children with behavioural problems might be prone both to childhood accidents and difficulties in adulthood.

The researchers are calling for age-appropriate follow-up of children who have sustained head injuries, to prevent them from falling behind at school – and make it possible to take action if they have health issues or other problems.

The team says that, although their findings are not conclusive, they indicate “potentially causal effects” between head injury in childhood and problems later in life – implying a need to prevent head injury through “better parental supervision of young children and prevention of sports-related concussion for older children”.

The researchers are suggesting that team sports might focus on changes to rules so that the risk of players suffering collisions and head impacts is reduced.

The study is published online in the Public Library of Science (PLOS).

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