Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27147386›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2016

Occupational outcomes following mild traumatic brain injury in Canadian military personnel deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan: a retrospective cohort study.

Bryan G Garber, Corneliu Rusu, Mark A Zamorski, David Boulos

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Bryan G GarberCanadian Forces Health Services Group Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Corneliu RusuCanadian Forces Health Services Group Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Mark A ZamorskiCanadian Forces Health Services Group Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
David BoulosCanadian Forces Health Services Group Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Canadian Armed Forces · CAUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveDeployment-related mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) occurs in a significant number of military personnel but its long-term impacts are unclear. This study explores the impact of deployment-related MTBI on continued fitness-for-duty, with the ultimate intent of identifying potential targets for intervention to attenuate its effects.

participantsConsisted of 16 193 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel who deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan and completed an enhanced postdeployment screening (EPDS) questionnaire over the period January 2009-July 2012. PRIMARY OUTCOME: The primary outcome was development of permanent medical unfitness defined as a 'career-limiting medical condition' (CL-MC). The secondary outcome was the diagnostic categories recorded for each individual at the time a CL-MC was established.

designThis study used a retrospective cohort design. Linked administrative and health data provided the primary outcome and the diagnoses responsible for it. Survival analysis was used to estimate the risk of a CL-MC and Cox regression provided adjusted HRs (aHRs) for the association between a CL-MC and MTBI, accounting for key covariates and confounders. Diagnostic categories associated with CL-MCs were identified.

resultsOver a median follow-up period of 3.42 years, 6.57% of the study population developed a CL-MC. MTBI was independently associated with CL-MCs (aHR=1.65, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.03). Mental disorders and musculoskeletal conditions were the primary diagnoses associated with CL-MCs (identified as the primary diagnosis in 55.4% and 25.9%, respectively), and a neurological condition was only documented in 5.8% of those with MTBI who developed a CL-MC

conclusionsDeployment-related MTBI was associated with adverse occupational outcome but mental disorders and musculoskeletal conditions primarily drove subsequent medical unfitness. These findings support a diagnostic and treatment approach focusing on these comorbidities as the most promising strategy to minimise the burden of disability in MTBI-exposed military personnel.

Indexed as

Military PersonnelAdultAfghan Campaign 2001-Brain ConcussionCanadaComorbidityEmploymentFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMental DisordersPost-Concussion SyndromePrevalenceProfessional CompetenceRetrospective StudiesBrain injuries/*diagnosesDisabled Persons/statistics & numerical dataoccupationsprognosis

Identifiers

PMID27147386
PMCPMC4861116
OpenAlexW2345922481

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.