Does blunt head trauma increase the risk of depression?

I believe everyone is familiar with depression. Due to various social pressures, more and more people are suffering from depression. Depression is very harmful to us. Mild depression will only make you feel bad. Severe depression can be life-threatening. So does blunt head trauma increase the risk of depression? Stay home today and find out

After blunt head trauma, the risk of developing depression often increases, can persist for decades, and increases with the severity of the head trauma.

Dr. Plassman and his colleagues at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, collected data from 1,718 people, with an average age of 20.9, who were treated for blunt head trauma while serving in the military between 1944 and 1945. In 1996 and 1997, the researchers retrospectively studied 520 of these individuals and 1,198 veterans who were being treated for other reasons during the same period.

It has been reported that veterans with head trauma are more likely to suffer from severe depression, and most veterans with head trauma have more depressive symptoms than veterans without head trauma. The investigators report that in regression analyses controlling for age and education, the lifetime prevalence of major depression was 18.5% among veterans with head trauma and 13.4% among veterans without head trauma (odds ratio, 1.54).

Dr. Plassman's team also said that patients with current depressive symptoms often had a history of head trauma (11.2%), while only 8.5% of veterans without head trauma had the disease (odds ratio, 1.63).

Confounding factors, such as a history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or alcohol abuse, could not explain the history of depression in these individuals. Researchers have shown that the risk of depression increases with the severity of head trauma. The authors believe that our previous cohort study of people with head trauma who currently suffer from major depression found that the harmful effects of early-life head trauma can last for 50 years or more.

In a corresponding editorial , robinson and jorge dr . , from the university of iowa department of medicine in iowa , iowa , compare the findings with other studies that have found an association between depression and head trauma years after the injury . They confirmed the research of Plassman et al. Emphasize to clinicians the important association between structural brain damage and lifelong depression. The lifelong nature of this condition strongly supports the diagnosis and treatment of depression, which can improve quality of life and potentially prolong survival.

Through the above introduction, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of whether blunt head trauma will increase the risk of depression. In fact, blunt head trauma will aggravate the condition. So everyone should try to avoid the occurrence of this disease. If you have any related diseases, be sure to consult a professional doctor as soon as possible for early treatment.