{ "abstract": "Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common injury across all age groups and populations, with a high prevalence among military service members and Veterans. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to use a large, prospective cohort of Veterans to examine the association between childhood mTBI and multimodal mental and behavioral health outcomes, and among those with childhood mTBI, evaluate sociodemographic characteristics associated with worse outcomes. Data came from the Long-term Impact of Military-relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (LIMBIC-CENC) prospective longitudinal study. This cohort included 1,286 Veterans, 61.3% of whom sustained a childhood mTBI. After adjustment for demographic, behavioral, and military history factors, Veterans with childhood mTBI had higher PTSD symptom scores (Mean Ratio[MR] = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.22–1.51), higher anger scores (MR = 1.08, 95%CI: 1.05–1.10), higher depression scores (MR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.17–1.46), higher anxiety scores (mean difference [MD]= 4.3, 95% CI: 2.9-5.6), emotional-behavioral dyscontrol scores (MD = 3.2, 95% CI: 2.2–4.3), worse sleep quality (MD = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1-2.2), worse neurobehavioral symptoms (MD = 6.8, 95% CI: 5.2-8.5), lower satisfaction with life (MD = -1.2, 95% CI: -2.1 to -0.27), and lower resilience scores (MR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94–0.99). There were no significant differences after adjustment for alcohol or drug use scores. Among individuals with a history of childhood mTBI, several mental and behavioral health outcomes were worse among those who sustained multiple mTBIs and better among those who were physically active and had higher education. These findings suggest markers of increased riskpresent before military enlistment that may warrant targeted prevention, screening, and treatment strategies. Increased awareness among healthcare providers may help identify Veterans with childhood mTBI history who would benefit from evidence-based treatment and support.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States of America.", "Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.", "Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.", "Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.", "Institute for Women's Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.", "Division of Epidemiology, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America.", "United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Brain Health Coordinating Center, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America." ], "article_type": "Research Article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 9, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Dana Waltzman", "orcid": "0000-0002-1708-0524" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa", "orcid": "0000-0002-2013-6453" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3, 4 ], "name": "Samuel R Walton", "orcid": "0000-0003-2647-5701" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Amani Jridi", "orcid": "0009-0003-3917-071X" }, { "affs": [ 5 ], "name": "Angela P Presson", "orcid": "0000-0001-7400-3923" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3 ], "name": "William C Walker" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3, 6 ], "name": "David X Cifu", "orcid": "0000-0003-1600-9387" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Jessie R Oldham" }, { "affs": [ 2, 3, 6 ], "name": "Landon B Lempke", "orcid": "0000-0003-0007-1362" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7q0gs33ewq93c.bib", "cited_by": 0, "doi": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679", "fulltext_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679", "id": "7q0gs33ewq93c", "issns": [ "2837-8156" ], "landing_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679", "language": "eng", "licence": "CC-BY", "licence_label": "CC BY", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "openalex", "2713|Traumatic Brain Injury Research" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Physiological processes/Sleep" ], [ "plos", "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Emotions" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Critical care and emergency medicine/Trauma medicine/Traumatic injury/Neurotrauma/Traumatic brain injury" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Veteran care" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Child psychiatry" ], [ "plos", "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Behavioral and social aspects of health" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Political science/Governments/Armed forces/Military personnel/Veterans" ], [ "plos", "/Social sciences/Psychology/Emotions" ] ], "openalex": "W7223122243", "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679&type=printable", "pmcid": "PMC13686504", "pmid": "42905632", "published": "2026-10-21", "publisher": "Public Library of Science", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7q0gs33ewq93c.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z", "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679", "source": "plos", "url": "https://journals.plos.org/mentalhealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmen.0000679" }, { "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z", "native_id": "MED:42905632", "source": "europepmc", "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905632" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:public and occupational health", "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:physiology", "subfield": "physiology" }, { "field": "medicine", "origin": "plos:mental health and psychiatry", "subfield": "psychiatry" } ], "title": "Association of childhood mild traumatic brain injury with mental and behavioral health outcomes later in life among U.S. Veterans: A LIMBIC-CENC study", "title_text": "Association of childhood mild traumatic brain injury with mental and behavioral health outcomes later in life among U.S. Veterans: A LIMBIC-CENC study", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:53Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7q0gs33ewq93c", "venue": "PLOS Mental Health", "versions": [] }