Incident diagnoses of common symptoms ("sequelae") following traumatic brain injury, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2000-2012.

Many individuals who suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) experience subsequent physical, neurocognitive, or psychological symptoms. This analysis examined the occurrence of 14 such symptoms in service members stratified by severity into three groups of TBI and also in two comparison groups (controls) of service members who had no documented TBI diagnosis. For members of each of the five groups, the proportion who had experienced the 14 symptoms of interest was captured for the first 3 month and 12 month periods after the relevant diagnosis. Service members in the group "TBI, non-current injury" differed considerably from the four other groups by demographic characteristics and by previous history of deployment. In general, individuals with diagnoses indicative of TBI, regardless of severity, had higher proportions of the post-TBI diagnoses than either control group. The most common post-TBI diagnoses were headache disorders, alcohol and substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and sleep disorders. Proportions with diagnosed symptoms increased from the earliest (2000-2002) to the most recent part (2007-2012) of the surveillance period. Probable reasons for this observation are discussed.