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First published in Psychiatry Weekly, Volume 8, Issue 7, March 18, 2013

While alcohol and drug use are known to increase the risk of incurring a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a study from the American Journal of Psychiatry explored the potential of an inverse correlation between the two. Using electronic medical records from a cohort of active-duty US military personnel, the investigators identified individuals associated with (1) ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes that experts said suggested the presence of mild TBI and (2) ICD-9-CM addictive disorder codes. The investigators used Cox proportional hazards modeling to weigh the correlation between both diagnostic codes, finding that those with mild TBI were at an increased risk of alcohol or nicotine dependence or abuse compared with similarly injured controls without mild TBI. The risk did, however, decrease over time, suggesting that the timing and risk of sequelae differ between mild TBI and moderate to severe TBI. ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1654937

-LS

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