Sequelae of Blast Events in Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans using the Salisbury Blast Interview: A CENC Study.

The study is retrospective self-report, and there is no accepted definition of blast exposure against which the interview could be validated. Data came from one assessment visit, so the study cannot show that blast exposure caused later symptoms. The sample was limited to combat-exposed Iraq or Afghanistan war service members and veterans, was 14% female and 9.9% active duty, and excluded moderate or severe TBI, penetrating head injury, serious mental illness, dementia, substance use disorder, psychosis, and some neuroimaging exclusions. Because data were obtained at the assessment visit, some participants may have met exclusion criteria. The symptom validity cutoff was lenient and not specific to service members or veterans, although excluding those above the cutoff did not alter results. A small number of participants reported very high numbers of blast events, and event-level analyses used only individual ratings to reduce their influence. Analyses were uncorrected for multiple comparisons. The interview may need adjusted prompts for events not typically considered blasts, such as firing shoulder mounted weapons.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, and no competing financial interests.

Do not conclude that the Salisbury Blast Interview diagnoses blast-related TBI or proves that blast exposure caused symptoms. It relies on retrospective self-report, and the study found associations rather than a validated diagnostic test.