Athletes.  People who slip and fall.  People who get in car accidents.  These are all people who could potentially suffer a traumatic brain injury.  A new study done in Washington revealed what many neurologists have believed for a long time:  clinical depression is possible for people who suffer traumatic brain injuries, according to the LA Times.

Our brain injury lawyers know about the simple symptoms of living beyond a traumatic brain injury (i.e. post-concussion syndrome) including headaches, dizziness and lack of consciousness.  There are also more complex emotional aspects of a traumatic brain injury which shouldn’t be ignored.

Univ. of Washington study shows depression could be caused by traumatic brain injures.

If you’ve ever suffered a traumatic brain injury, you know that living with the after effects can be just as bad as suffering the original injury itself.  There’s the obvious physical conditions like headaches and nausea, and then there are the emotional ones, such as depression.

Researchers at the University of Washington discovered that within one year’s time of  suffering a traumatic brain injury, some survivors will go through a long period of clinical depression.  This rate is about eight times greater than the general population.

At a Seattle trauma center, 559 participants who suffered a traumatic brain injury and continuing signs of brain damage participated in the study.  Over the next six, eight, ten and 12 months after the initial brain injury, researchers talked to them over the phone to find out the patient’s mood and ability to function.

Those whose traumatic brain injury was followed by depression reported more pain, increased mobility problems and usual tasks become harder than the ones without post-injury depression.

The study’s participants had a wide range in damage done to their neurological center and those with more serious brain injuries had higher rates of depression, but what is interesting to note is that those suffering from mild or moderate traumatic brain injuries were just as likely to suffer the same depression.  Patients who were already depressed from a prior condition also reported high levels.

Our brain injury lawyers in San Diego know that researchers and scientists have been trying to connect the dots between traumatic brain injuries and depression for a while now.  This study goes to show that there is more than one side to living after a traumatic brain injury — the physical side and the emotional side — but both could leave a lasting effect on a person’s life.

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