Affiliations: Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 707, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. Tel.: +1 240 821 9731; Fax: +1 301 230 1976; E-mail: brian.ivins@us.army.mil | [x] Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA | [y] Institute of Soldier Nanotechnology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Note: [1] The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do
not reflect the official policy of the Department of Army, Department
of Defense, or U.S. Government.
Abstract: Objective:to determine the potential impacts of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on the incidence of TBI-related hospitalization in the active duty US Army. Methods:All active duty Army personnel hospitalized with a TBI diagnosis during fiscal years 2000 through 2006 were identified in an administrative database. Annual crude incidence rates were calculated. Two-year adjusted incidence rates were calculated to compare TBI-related hospitalization rates in the Army to rates in the age-comparable segment of the US civilian population. Results:The overall incidence of TBI-related hospitalization in the active duty Army increased 105% from FY2000 to FY2006. There was a 60-fold increase in the hospitalization rate for TBIs attributed to weapons. The increases in TBI hospitalizations coincided with the occurrence of OEF/OIF. During OEF/OIF, the Army’s hospitalization rates for moderate and severe TBIs were lower than civilian rates; however, the Army’s hospitalization rate for mild TBIs was higher than civilian rates. Conclusion:OEF/OIF appear to have had a substantial impact on TBI-related hospitalization rates in the active duty US Army but differences between Army and civilian rates were not as excessive as expected.
Keywords: Traumatic brain injury, incidence rates, US Army, blasts, war-related
