Associations between concussion and more severe TBIs, mild cognitive impairment, and early-onset dementia among military retirees over 40 years.

Background And Objectives: As the population of U.S. service members (SMs) who have sustained concussions and more severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) during military service ages, understanding the long-term outcomes associated with such injuries will provide critical information that may promote long-term assessment, support, and rehabilitation following military service.

Effects of Blast- and Impact-Related Concussion on Persistent Sleep Problems.

Objective: Examine whether concussion mechanism of injury (high-level blast [HLB] vs impact) affects the likelihood of persistent sleep problems in a post-deployment military population.

Setting: Post-Deployment Health Assessment and Re-Assessment survey records completed upon return from deployment and approximately 6 months later.

Participants: Active duty enlisted US Marines who completed both assessments ( N = 64 464).

Traumatic brain injury and occupational risk of low-level blast exposure on adverse career outcomes: an examination of administrative and medical separations from Service (2005-2015).

Introduction: Although traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been linked with adverse long-term health, less research has examined whether TBI is linked with non-clinical outcomes including involuntary job loss. Symptoms associated with TBI may influence one's ability to maintain gainful employment including employment in the U.S.

The Effect of Concussion Mechanism of Injury on Sleep Problems in Active Duty Service Members Following Deployment.

Introduction: Sleep disruption is pervasive in the military and is generally exacerbated during deployment, partially due to increases in operational tempo and exposure to stressors and/or trauma. In particular, sleep disruption is a commonly reported symptom following deployment-related traumatic brain injury (TBI), though less is known about the prevalence of sleep disturbance as a function of whether the TBI was induced by high-level blast (HLB) or direct impact to the head. TBI assessment, treatment, and prognosis are further complicated by comorbidity with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol misuse.

Self-Reported Symptoms in U.S. Marines Following Blast- and Impact-Related Concussion.

Introduction: Recent research on traumatic brain injury (TBI) has suggested that the mechanism of injury (i.e., whether the TBI was caused by high-level blast [HLB] vs.

Occupational Risk of Low-Level Blast Exposure and TBI-Related Medical Diagnoses: A Population-Based Epidemiological Investigation (2005-2015).

Because traumatic brain injury (TBI)-most often caused by exposure to high-level blast (HLB)-is a leading cause of medical evacuations of deployed U.S. service members in recent conflicts, researchers seek to identify risk factors for TBI.

The Persistence of Blast- Versus Impact-Induced Concussion Symptomology Following Deployment.

Objective: To examine the persistence of concussion-related symptoms following injury as a function of mechanism of injury (high-level blast [HLB] vs impact) and low-level blast (LLB) exposure among Marines.

Setting: Upon return from deployment and approximately 6 months later, respectively, Marines completed the Post-Deployment Health Assessment and Post-Deployment Health Re-Assessment in an operational or clinic setting.

Participants: Data from active duty enlisted Marines who completed both assessments (n = 102 075) and who reported a potentially mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)-inducing event and completed an mTBI screen (n = 8106) were analyzed.

Getting on the Same Page: Consolidating Terminology to Facilitate Cross-Disciplinary Health-Related Blast Research.

The consequences of blast exposure (including both high-level and low-level blast) have been a focal point of military interest and research for years. Recent mandates from Congress (e.g.

Potential Health and Performance Effects of High-Level and Low-Level Blast: A Scoping Review of Two Decades of Research.

Although blast exposure has been recognized as a significant source of morbidity and mortality in military populations, our understanding of the effects of blast exposure, particularly low-level blast (LLB) exposure, on health outcomes remains limited. This scoping review provides a comprehensive, accessible review of the peer-reviewed literature that has been published on blast exposure over the past two decades, with specific emphasis on LLB. We conducted a comprehensive scoping review of the scientific literature published between January 2000 and 2019 pertaining to the effects of blast injury and/or exposure on human and animal health.

Seasonal Trends for Environmental Illness Incidence in the U.S. Army.

Introduction: The incidence of and risk factors for exertional heat illness (EHI) and cold weather injury (CWI) in the U.S. Army have been well documented.

Microbial contamination in the communal-use Lao tobacco waterpipe.

Background: The use of the Asian tobacco waterpipe (TWP) in the Lao People's Democratic Republic represents a potential communal source of infectious disease. This practice of smoking can lead to weakened defences of a smoker's respiratory epithelium, making the smoker vulnerable to respiratory diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019, tuberculosis and others.

Methods: This study evaluated the water quality and hygiene factors among 43 smokers of five villages in rural Luang Namtha Province.

Self-Reported Concussion Symptomology during Deployment: Differences as a Function of Injury Mechanism and Low-Level Blast Exposure.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can result from either direct impact to the head or blast exposure, has been the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in recent military conflicts. However, little research has compared mTBIs by mechanism of injury. The present research addressed two research questions: (1) Are blast-related mTBIs (mbTBIs) associated with significantly more symptoms than impact-related mTBIs (miTBIs), and (2) are mTBIs associated with more self-reported symptoms among service members with higher (vs.

Blast Exposure and Risk of Recurrent Occupational Overpressure Exposure Predict Deployment TBIs.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in recent military conflicts and deployment-related TBIs are most commonly caused by blast. However, knowledge of risk factors that increase susceptibility to TBI following an acute, high-level blast is limited. We hypothesized that recurrent occupational overpressure exposure (ROPE) may be one factor that increases susceptibility to mild TBI (mTBI) following blast.

"We Want to Build a Network": Professional Experiences of Case Managers Working With Military Families.

Optimizing case management (CM) services increases service member readiness at home and abroad. However, little research has been conducted on the experiences of case managers providing services to military families within the Military Health System. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted to explore the professional experiences of case managers to identify factors that may affect care to military families.

Scoping Review and Gap Analysis of Research Related to the Health of Women in the U.S. Military, 2000 to 2015.

Objective: To synthesize the results of a scoping review and analysis of health care use data to identify gaps in knowledge related to the health of women in the U.S. military.