Citation

Ivins BJ, Schwab KA, Warden D, Harvey LT, Hoilien MA, Powell CO, Johnson CS, Salazar AM. J. Trauma 2003; 55(4): 617-621.

Affiliation

Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Washington DC 20012, USA. brian.ivins@na.amedd.army.mil

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/01.TA.0000052368.97573.D4

PMID

14566111

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study presents self-reported traumatic brain injury (TBI) prevalence rates for 2,337 active duty U.S. Army soldiers who underwent baseline testing as part of a larger study of military TBI. METHODS: A computerized self-report questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 2,337 highly functioning active-duty soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who underwent baseline testing during a 13-month period in 1999 and 2000 as part of a larger ongoing Institutional Review Board-approved study examining the consequences of brain injuries among paratroopers. RESULTS: Approximately 23% of all of the soldiers surveyed reported sustaining a TBI after joining the Army. More than twice as many paratroopers reported sustaining TBI after joining the Army than did nonparatroopers (p < 0.001). Parachute-related TBI accounted for this difference. Nearly all of these injuries were mild. Less than 2% of paratroopers and no nonparatroopers reported loss of consciousness lasting more than 20 minutes. It was also shown that paratroopers with a history of TBI before joining the Army had a higher prevalence of TBI while serving in the Army (35%) than paratroopers without prior TBI (27.2%) (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that parachuting appears to be a risk factor for mild TBI in the U.S. Army and that paratroopers with a history of TBI before joining the Army might be at somewhat increased risk of sustaining additional TBI while serving in the Army.