Odds of Mental, Physical Health Outcomes Elevated for Children With TBI

TUESDAY, April 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Children and adolescents with medically diagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) have increased odds of mental and physical health outcomes, with variation seen by family resilience, according to a study published online April 13 in JAMA Network Open.Zhengyang Zhou from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and colleagues examined the associations between medically diagnosed TBI and mental and physical health outcomes among U.S. children aged 6 to 17 years, using data from the 2022 and 2023 National Survey of Children's Health.Among 33,572 participants, 1,195 had a history of medically diagnosed TBI and 32,377 had no TBI. The researchers found that compared with those without TBI, children and adolescents with TBI had a significantly higher prevalence of poor health (e.g., current anxiety: 12.9 versus 4.7 percent; adjusted prevalence ratio, 1.83). They also had elevated odds of current anxiety, depression, frequent headaches, and chronic pain (adjusted odds ratios, 1.87, 1.98, 7.76, and 3.99, respectively). In interaction analyses, there was evidence of effect modification on the multiplicative scale for depression, with higher odds seen at moderate and low resilience levels (adjusted odds ratios, 5.64 and 6.41, respectively) versus the reference group with no TBI and high resilience."Children who experience TBI face increased risks of mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression, highlighting the importance of routine mental health screening and long-term follow-up care," principal author Henry Xiang, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., also from Nationwide Children's Hospital, said in a statement.One author disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Odds of Mental, Physical Health Outcomes Elevated for Children With TBI

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