Long Term Effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries – New Research

Brain injuries are serious and life changing events that many Americans have to live with every day. It doesn’t matter who you are, a brain injury can have a major impact on your life and seriously change how you live day to day.

Several new studies on traumatic brain injuries demonstrate that even seemingly small head injuries can lead to lifelong consequences.

What are the long-term effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries?

A new study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness debunks the myth that a single, uncomplicated Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) won’t have any permanent effects. In this study the researchers were trying to determine the long-term effects that a single TBI had on the health of patients age 55-70 years old.

Their research consisted of 35 participants who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury two to seven years prior. All of the participants had no preexisting risk factors and had a negative scan for other head injuries. The research found significant differences in information processing speed, executive function, and visual memory on neuropsychological tests between controls and mild traumatic brain injury patients.  The bottom line is, even a single mild traumatic brain injury can have a long lasting impact.

How do Brain Injuries Affect Sleep?

A new study out of the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System investigated the increased risk of sleep disorders following traumatic brain injury.

In this study, the researchers performed a study of patients diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury in the Veterans Health Administration system from 2001 to 2015. These patients were matched with veterans who had not suffered traumatic brain injuries. Any veteran who had a sleep disorder before the baseline was excluded from this study. The disorders were defined as any inpatient or outpatient diagnosis of sleep apnea, hypersomnia, insomnia, or sleep-related mood disorders.

Out of the approximately 200,000 veterans included in the study, those who had a traumatic brain injury compared to those without were 41% more likely to develop a sleep disorder. Most importantly, the researchers found that the association was stronger for mild TBI’s and did not differ appreciably by the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The researchers concluded, “in 197,418 veterans without sleep disorders those with diagnosed TBI had an increased risk of incident sleep disorders over 14 years.” The study also demonstrated that patients with traumatic brain injuries were more likely than those without to have psychiatric conditions including mood disorders, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse.

Fisher Stark – Asheville Brain Injuries Lawyers

If you or a loved one suffer a traumatic brain injury as a result of an accident, take the first steps to ensure that you receive the care you need, and contact a personal injury lawyer who can guide you to the specialists and treatment you need and who can make sure that the right person pays for that treatment.

At Fisher Stark, we have experience with traumatic brain injuries and are eager to see our clients properly diagnosed and set on the best path to recovery, both in health and financially. If you or someone you know suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident, please contact one of our injury lawyers at (828) 505-4300. We serve all parts of Western North Carolina including Asheville, Black Mountain, Mars Hill, Weaverville, Waynesville, Bryson City and Hendersonville, NC.

Let our TBI legal experience work for you … We will never leave you fighting alone.