BACKGROUND: Comorbid mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common clinical presentation among troops returning from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). This study examined processing speed and executive functioning in a sample of OEF/OIF veterans who had sustained mTBI, a subset of whom also had comorbid PTSD. METHODS: Fifty-three OEF/OIF veterans with a history of mTBI completed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Symbol Search and Digit Symbol-Coding subscales, Stroop Word, color and color-word trials, and Trail Making Test, Parts A and B as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS: Excluding from analysis those who scored poorly on effort testing, multiple regression showed that measures of processing speed accounted for 43% of the variance in performance on the Trail Making Test, Part B and 50% of the variance in performance on the Stroop task. Significant differences in processing speed and executive functioning were found on the basis of presence of comorbid PTSD. Stroop Color (F = 9.27, df = 52, P < .004) and Stroop Color Word (F = 7.19, df = 52, P < .01) scores differed significantly between the groups. Those having comorbid PTSD (+TBI/+PTSD) scored significantly poorer than the mTBI-only group (+TBI/-PTSD). Implications for treatment of the comorbid conditions are discussed.
BACKGROUND: Comorbid mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common clinical presentation among troops returning from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). This study examined processing speed and executive functioning in a sample of OEF/OIF veterans who had sustained mTBI, a subset of whom also had comorbid PTSD. METHODS: Fifty-three OEF/OIF veterans with a history of mTBI completed Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III Symbol Search and Digit Symbol-Coding subscales, Stroop Word, color and color-word trials, and Trail Making Test, Parts A and B as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS: Excluding from analysis those who scored poorly on effort testing, multiple regression showed that measures of processing speed accounted for 43% of the variance in performance on the Trail Making Test, Part B and 50% of the variance in performance on the Stroop task. Significant differences in processing speed and executive functioning were found on the basis of presence of comorbid PTSD. Stroop Color (F = 9.27, df = 52, P < .004) and Stroop Color Word (F = 7.19, df = 52, P < .01) scores differed significantly between the groups. Those having comorbid PTSD (+TBI/+PTSD) scored significantly poorer than the mTBI-only group (+TBI/-PTSD). Implications for treatment of the comorbid conditions are discussed.
Authors: Diane Montella; Steven H Brown; Peter L Elkin; James C Jackson; S Trent Rosenbloom; Dietlind Wahner-Roedler; Gail Welsh; Bryan Cotton; Oscar D Guillamondegui; Henry Lew; Katherine H Taber; Larry A Tupler; Rodney Vanderploeg; Theodore Speroff Journal: AMIA Annu Symp Proc Date: 2011-10-22
Authors: Casey T Taft; Lorig K Kachadourian; Michael K Suvak; Lavinia A Pinto; Mark M Miller; Jeffrey A Knight; Brian P Marx Journal: J Fam Psychol Date: 2012-02-27
Authors: Laura D Crocker; Amber V Keller; Sarah M Jurick; Jessica Bomyea; Chelsea C Hays; Elizabeth W Twamley; Amy J Jak Journal: J Int Neuropsychol Soc Date: 2018-11-16 Impact factor: 2.892
Authors: Hannah L Combs; David T R Berry; Theresa Pape; Judith Babcock-Parziale; Bridget Smith; Randal Schleenbaker; Anne Shandera-Ochsner; Jordan P Harp; Walter M High Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2015-02-26 Impact factor: 5.269
Authors: Katherine C Lopez; Jacob B Leary; Dzung L Pham; Yi-Yu Chou; John Dsurney; Leighton Chan Journal: J Neurotrauma Date: 2016-06-10 Impact factor: 5.269