Effects of a modular telehealth intervention on comorbid conditions in service members with mild traumatic brain injury

Effects of a modular telehealth intervention on comorbid conditions in service members with mild traumatic brain injury

ObjectiveMany active duty service members with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) report comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and pain. We analyzed data from a prior randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of evidence-based treatment modules, delivered by telep...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jesse R. Fann, Tessa Hart, Kathleen R. Bell, Wesley Cole, Sonia Jain, Rema Raman, Jason Barber, Sureyya Dikmen, John Richardson, Murray B. Stein, Nancy Temkin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
Subjects:
traumatic brain injury
concussion
comorbidity
telehealth
clinical trial
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1594748/full
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Summary:ObjectiveMany active duty service members with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) report comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia, and pain. We analyzed data from a prior randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of evidence-based treatment modules, delivered by telephone, on the number and symptom burden of five common comorbidities.Setting and participants356 service members from two military medical centers who had sustained deployment-related mTBI in the preceding 2 years.DesignSecondary analysis of RCT comparing 6 months of telephone-delivered problem-solving treatment (PST) with comorbidity-specific modules to education only (EO).Main measuresComorbidity burden measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Brief Symptom Inventory-Anxiety, PTSD Checklist, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory, Rivermead Postconcussion Symptoms Questionnaire (headache item) assessed at baseline and 6 and 12 months.Results47% of service members endorsed ≥ 3 comorbidities at baseline. At 6 months, the PST group had significantly fewer comorbidities, greater improvement in depression, anxiety, PTSD, and sleep, but not headache, and higher response/remission rates for depression and sleep, compared to EO. There were no significant group differences at 12 months.ConclusionTelephone-delivered PST with comorbidity-specific modules reduces burden of comorbidities after deployment-related mTBI. Research is needed on how to maintain improvements over time.
ISSN:1664-2295

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