A recent study produced by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that 30% of individuals who suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) will experience depression after the injury. “Any patient who has a traumatic brain injury is at a real risk for developing depression, short and long term,” said study co-author Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui. “It doesn’t matter where on the timeline that you check the patient population — six months, 12 months, two years, five years — the prevalence is always around 30 percent across the board.”
This study reinforces the fact that patients and their families need to be educated about the potential problems that survivors of traumatic brain injury may experience. For more information on the impact of brain injuries on survivors and their families see the ‘Traumatic Brain Injury and the Family’ section of our website.
References:
- Article: “Depression Common After Brain Injury” April 19, 2011.
- “Traumatic brain injury shows strong link to depression, but treatments lack study” Vanderbilt University Medical Centre – News Release
