Research Letter: Characterizing Lifetime Mild TBI Exposure Among Female and Male Military Service Members and Veterans in the LIMBIC-CENC Study.
Samuel R Walton, Jessie R Oldham, Rosemay A Remigio-Baker and 14 others
PMID 39019484WHAT IT FOUND
Among 2323 deployed service members and veterans, 82% reported at least one lifetime mild TBI, and 71% of those had multiple.
Men reported more lifetime mild TBIs, more mild TBIs during service, and more blast exposure than women.
Key findings
01In the final sample of 2323 participants, 1912 reported at least one lifetime mild TBI, and 1351 of those reported multiple mild TBIs.
02Women reported fewer total lifetime mild TBIs than men, both during and outside combat-deployment environments.
03Men were more likely to report mild TBI during military service, during deployment, and with blast exposure, and 85% of female Veteran participants separated from service before 2016.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study reports descriptive exposure characteristics, not symptoms, diagnosis, treatment response, or recovery outcomes. Sex was recorded as male, female, or refused and treated as biological sex. Gender identity was not captured. The sample was mostly male (87.5%), mostly veterans (79.6%), and mostly White (73.2%). Most female Veteran participants separated from service before 2016, so the findings may not reflect women serving after military occupational restrictions were lifted. People with moderate, severe, or penetrating TBI, and people with major neurologic or psychiatric disorders that reduced independent living, were excluded. The analyses were descriptive rather than designed to test specific hypotheses.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that female service members have lower mild TBI exposure. Most female Veteran participants separated from service before 2016, before many military occupational restrictions were lifted.