Article

OBJECTIVE: Report the prevalence of lifetime and military-related traumatic brain
injuries (TBIs) in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom
(OEF/OIF) veterans and validate the Boston Assessment of TBI-Lifetime (BAT-L).
SETTING: The BAT-L is the first validated, postcombat, semistructured clinical
interview to characterize head injuries and diagnose TBIs throughout the life
span. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling convenience sample of 131 OEF/OIF
veterans. DESIGN: TBI criteria (alteration of mental status, posttraumatic
amnesia, and loss of consciousness) were evaluated for all possible TBIs,
including a novel evaluation of blast exposure. MAIN MEASURES: BAT-L, Ohio State
University TBI Identification Method (OSU-TBI-ID). RESULTS: About 67% of veterans
incurred a TBI in their lifetime. Almost 35% of veterans experienced at least 1
military-related TBI; all were mild in severity, 40% of them were due to blast,
50% were due to some other (ie, blunt) mechanism, and 10% were due to both types
of injuries. Predeployment TBIs were frequent (45% of veterans). There was strong
correspondence between the BAT-L and the OSU-TBI-ID (Cohen kappa = 0.89; Kendall
tau-b = 0.95). Interrater reliability of the BAT-L was strong (kappas >0.80).
CONCLUSIONS: The BAT-L is a valid instrument with which to assess TBI across a
service member's lifetime and captures the varied and complex nature of brain
injuries across OEF/OIF veterans' life span.

Langue : ANGLAIS