Traumatic brain injury, coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular mortality

AbstractBackground: Traumatic-brain-injury (TBI) is a devastating-condition resulting in cerebral edema and ischemia. This study investigates the association of mild-TBI (mTBI) to sub-clinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular (CV) mortality.Methods: Five hundred and forty-three veterans without known coronary artery disease or diagnosed mental disorder, who underwent coronary artery calcium (CAC) scanning for clinical indications, were followed for a median of 4-years. Veterans' medical diagnoses and neuropsychiatric health status (mTBI vs non-mTBI) were evaluated using VA electronic medical records. CAC was defined as 0, 1–100, 101–400 and 400+.Results: CAC was higher in mTBI, compared to without-mTBI (p < 0.05). TBI was more prevalent with the-severity of CAC (p < 0.05). Regression-analyses revealed that mTBI is an independent-predictor of CAC (p < 0.01). The CV mortality rate was 25% in mTBI and 10.5% in without-mTBI (p = 0.0001). Multivariable survival regression analyses revealed a significant-asso...