A Data-Driven Approach for Traumatic Brain Injury Phenotyping: Defining Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiological Features Predictive of Injury-Associated Mental Health Disorders

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes more death and disability than any other type of trauma. Mental health disorders occur in more than 75% of patients in the first year after injury. Many TBI patients do not seek help for mental health disorders and this leads to poor physical function and changes in how they think. Early identification of mental health disorders in TBI patients is important. If mental health disorders are not recognized early on, they can lead to poor quality of life for patients. Unrecognized mental health disorders can cause changes in family relationships, coping mechanisms, the ability to work or go to school, and even care for oneself. There are many factors which predict if patients will develop mental health disorders after TBI. These include age, sex, social circumstances, the severity of injury, the part of brain injured, other medical conditions, and any changes in blood. One of the goals of this project is find out if there are any patterns in TBI patients who go on to develop mental health disorders. The other goal is to determine which factors predict mental health disorders after TBI. If we can figure out which TBI patients are at risk for mental health disorders, we can start to help them soon after their injury. By helping TBI patients at risk for mental health disorders early, it is possible to avoid serious impacts on their mental health and well-being.