Risk of Adverse Outcomes Among Veterans Who Screen Positive for Traumatic Brain Injury in the Veterans Health Administration But Do Not Complete a Comprehensive Evaluation: A LIMBIC-CENC Study

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether post-9/11 veterans who screened positive for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) but did not complete a Comprehensive TBI Evaluation (CTBIE) were at higher risk of subsequent adverse events compared with veterans who screened positive and completed a CTBIE. Upon CTBIE completion, information assessed by a trained TBI clinician indicates whether there is mTBI history (mTBI+) or not (mTBI-). SETTING: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) outpatient services. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 52 700 post-9/11 veterans who screened positive for TBI were included. The follow-up review period was between fiscal years 2008 and 2019. The 3 groups studied based on CTBIE completion and mTBI status were: (1) mTBI+ (48.6%), (2) mTBI- (17.8%), and (3) no CTBIE (33.7%). DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. Log binomial and Poisson regression models adjusting for demographic, military, pre-TBI screening health, and VHA covariates examined risk ratios of incident outcomes based on CTBIE completion and mTBI status. MAIN MEASURES: Incident substance use disorders (SUDs), alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), overdose, and homelessness documented in VHA administrative records, and mortality as documented in the National Death Index, 3 years post-TBI screen. VHA outpatient utilization was also examined. RESULTS: Compared with the no CTBIE group, the mTBI+ group had 1.28 to 1.31 times the risk of incident SUD, AUD, and overdose, but 0.73 times the risk of death 3 years following TBI screening. The mTBI- group had 0.70 times the risk of OUD compared with the no CTBIE group within the same period. The no CTBIE group also had the lowest VHA utilization. CONCLUSIONS: There were mixed findings on risk of adverse events for the no CTBIE group relative to the mTBI+ and mTBI- groups. Future research is needed to explore the observed differences, including health conditions and healthcare utilization, documented outside VHA among veterans who screen positive for TBI.