Abstract
Objective: To describe the prevalence of communication disorders in veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Retrospective study of the prevalence of aphasia, fluency and voice disorders among veterans with different severity levels of TBI. Data was obtained from the VA National repository for OEF/OIF/OND veterans who received VA care in Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011. Results: Among the 303716 veterans in this study, 1848 were diagnosed with a communication disorder; 40% of these were also diagnosed with a TBI. Voice disorders were the most prevalent diagnosis (3.5 per 1000) followed by aphasia (1.9 per 1000) and fluency disorder (0.7 per 1000). Individuals with a TBI diagnosis were more likely to have a diagnosis of aphasia, followed by fluency and then voice disorder. The odds ratio (OR) of aphasia with TBI was 11.09-252.75 (95% CI=8.78-441.52, p<0.01). OR for fluency disorders with TBI was 3.58-10.41 (95% CI=2.56-42.40, p<0.01) and association of voice disorders with TBI was significant for all levels of TBI severity (OR=1.5-6.61, 95% CI=1.24-14.05, p<0.01). Conclusions: Veterans who sustained a TBI were more likely to have a diagnosis of a communication disorder, regardless of TBI severity. Those with TBI, including mild TBI, should be screened and evaluated for communication disorders.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1623-1630 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Brain Injury |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 13-14 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2013 |
Keywords
- Aphasia
- Epidemiology
- Fluency disorder
- TBI severity
- Veterans Health Administration
- Voice disorder
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience (miscellaneous)
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Clinical Neurology