Objective: To investigate the rates of negative outcomes associated with all severities of traumatic brain injury (TBI), treated in all settings or not treated at all, in comparison to the general population.
Participants: Coloradoans without injury, with injury but no TBI, with mild TBI but no loss of consciousness (LOC), mild TBI with LOC, moderate TBI, or severe TBI.
Design: Statewide population-based survey.
Main measures: Computer-assisted, modified Ohio State University TBI Identification Method; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey questions; Satisfaction with Life Scale; and postconcussive symptoms.
Results: Up to 42.5% of participants reported a lifetime history of at least 1 TBI. Multiple negative outcomes were found to increase in prevalence in a stepwise fashion in association with greater TBI severity, with the clearest patterns observed for disability, poor life satisfaction, and impaired memory.
Conclusions: Traumatic brain injury was found to be associated with disability and other negative outcomes in a general population survey. This study does not allow us to examine the proximate causes of disability, but it suggests that TBI may serve to both cause disability directly and exacerbate the influence of other etiologies. These relations should be examined in subsequent studies.