New research: Blast injury predicts PTSD

Dr. Dewleen Baker, lead investigator for Marine Resiliency Study at La Jolla VA stands next to the startle room. The room is used to measure the startled response to a visual as well as audiotory response.

Why do some U.S. combat veterans get debilitating emotional scars and others simply dont? How come people with even mild blast injuries complain about chronic headaches and back pain?

Early results from a four-year study of Camp Pendleton Marines reveal that the strongest predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, the shell shock acknowledged after World War I is a blast injury to the brain.

Its the first research to determine that brain trauma increases the risk of getting the psychological disorder, according to the lead investigator of the Marine Resiliency Study.

This is one of two recent studies by San Diego researchers with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that chip away at questions surrounding the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan war generation PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

Moderate or severe brain trauma raised PTSD symptom scores by 71 percent, according to research findings. Mild brain trauma increased PTSD scores by 23 percent. Other factors, such as the heat of combat alone, had an effect but a lesser one.

TBI was the strongest predictor of PTSD, even when controlling for pre-existing symptoms and combat intensity, said Dr. Dewleen Baker, a psychiatrist who led the study that looked at why some Marines bounce back after the trauma of combat are more resilient than others.

These finding may be used to identify individuals who may be at risk for developing PTSD and provide them with more immediate health care, said Baker, who is research director for the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health in San Diego.

Whats groundbreaking in this research which studied 1,650 infantry Marines from Camp Pendleton and Twentynine Palms before and after a combat deployment is that it dissects the relationship between PTSD and brain trauma.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Def.: Severe reaction to a traumatic event such as combat, physical assault or a natural disaster. Symptoms include reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind you of the trauma, negative changes in beliefs and feelings and frequently feeling keyed up.

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New research: Blast injury predicts PTSD