Effects of Repetitive Low-Level Blast Exposure on Mental Health in Veterans
Abstract
Links between blast exposure and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), as well as other negative physical and mental effects are well established. However, the effects of low-level blast exposure, which does not rise to the level of a mTBI diagnosis, are less well-documented. Low-level blast exposure may initiate or accelerate neurodegenerative changes, leading to accelerated age-related cognitive decline or overt neuropathological diagnoses such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), in addition to other non-neurodegenerative long-term harmful effects, such as clinical depression. This study analyzed the effect of low-level blast exposure through a survey of military veterans who served in the U.S. military as mortarmen (n = 42). Survey participants responded to screening assessments measuring depression, PTSD, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder. Through a matched pair study design, surveyed mortarmen were compared to two control groups consisting of veterans without a history of mTBI exposure (n = 283) and veterans who had suffered at least one mTBI exposure (n = 1264). We found that surveyed mortarmen reported statistically significant higher depression (as measured by PHQ-9) than both groups of controls. Even after accounting for Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) and unhealthy alcohol use, mortarmen still reported higher depression, suggesting that PTSD was not the sole factor responsible for worse mental health symptoms. These results highlight the importance of more comprehensive study of cumulative blast overpressure and its relationship with mental health.
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BibTeX
@misc{zeng2026effects,
title = {{Effects of Repetitive Low-Level Blast Exposure on Mental Health in Veterans}},
author = {Albert Zeng and Iris Horng and David Park and Nic Gray and Randel Swanson and Dylan S. Small},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.25279},
eprint = {2609.25279},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25279},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Effects of Repetitive Low-Level Blast Exposure on Mental Health in Veterans
AU - Albert Zeng
AU - Iris Horng
AU - David Park
AU - Nic Gray
AU - Randel Swanson
AU - Dylan S. Small
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.25279
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.25279
AB - Links between blast exposure and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), as well as other negative physical and mental effects are well established. However, the effects of low-level blast exposure, which does not rise to the level of a mTBI diagnosis, are less well-documented. Low-level blast exposure may initiate or accelerate neurodegenerative changes, leading to accelerated age-related cognitive decline or overt neuropathological diagnoses such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), in addition to other non-neurodegenerative long-term harmful effects, such as clinical depression. This study analyzed the effect of low-level blast exposure through a survey of military veterans who served in the U.S. military as mortarmen (n = 42). Survey participants responded to screening assessments measuring depression, PTSD, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder. Through a matched pair study design, surveyed mortarmen were compared to two control groups consisting of veterans without a history of mTBI exposure (n = 283) and veterans who had suffered at least one mTBI exposure (n = 1264). We found that surveyed mortarmen reported statistically significant higher depression (as measured by PHQ-9) than both groups of controls. Even after accounting for Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) and unhealthy alcohol use, mortarmen still reported higher depression, suggesting that PTSD was not the sole factor responsible for worse mental health symptoms. These results highlight the importance of more comprehensive study of cumulative blast overpressure and its relationship with mental health.
ER -