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Comparative Study
. 2012 May;102 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):S266-71.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300176. Epub 2011 Nov 28.

Racial/Ethnic disparities in mortality risk among US veterans with traumatic brain injury

Leonard E Egede  1 , Clara Dismuke, Carrae Echols
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Racial/Ethnic disparities in mortality risk among US veterans with traumatic brain injury

Leonard E Egede et al. Am J Public Health. 2012 May.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the association of race/ethnicity with mortality risk in a national cohort of US veterans clinically diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.

Methods: Between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006, we obtained data from a national cohort study of 7885 non-Hispanic White, 1748 Non-Hispanic Black, 314 Hispanic, and 4743 other or missing race/ethnicity veterans clinically diagnosed with traumatic brain injury in Veterans Affairs medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics.

Results: Overall mortality at 48 months was 6.7% in Hispanic, 2.9% in non-Hispanic White, and 2.7% in non-Hispanic Black veterans. Compared with non-Hispanic White, Hispanic ethnicity was positively associated with a higher mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49, 3.64) in the race/ethnicity-only adjusted model. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and comorbidities, Hispanic ethnicity continued to be positively associated (HR = 1.61; 95% CI = 1.00, 2.58) with a higher mortality risk relative to non-Hispanic White ethnicity.

Conclusions: Hispanic ethnicity is positively associated with higher mortality risk among veterans clinically diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. More research is needed to understand the reasons for this disparity.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Survival curve for time to death by race/ethnicity: racial/ethnic disparities in US veteran traumatic brain injury mortality, January 1, 2006–December 31, 2009.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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