Long Term Depression with TBI

A long-term follow-up study on head injured veterans reported in the archives of general psychiatry showed that concussions and other head injuries in early adulthood may significantly raise the risk of depression decades later. This is consistent with earlier studies that show that head injured patients may be prone to depression shortly after the head injury. The study suggested that the risk of depression persists even fifty years after the injury. (Keep in mind that the study by McCallister and Flashman in 1999 concluded that 20% to 30% of mild TBI patients show major depression in the first year post injury) (T. Holsinger 2002).