How prevalent is depression after a moderate to severe brain injury?
Depression or major depression is significantly more common after traumatic brain injury than in the general population. For example, in the year following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, about half the people will have an episode of major depression compared to only about 7 percent in the general population over a one-year period. This would mean that depression is about seven to eight times more frequent after a traumatic brain injury. If you go out seven to eight years post injury, up to about two-thirds of people with traumatic brain injury will have developed a major depression. As a comparison, about 15 to 20 percent of the general population in their lifetime will have suffered a major depressive episode.
Related Resources
- Depression After Brain Injury: What You Need to Know
- How Common Is Depression After Brain Injury?
- Why Is It So Important to Talk About Emotional and Psychological Recovery After Brain Injury?
- The Process of Adjusting to Life After a Brain Injury
- How Can Depression Affect Recovery from Brain Injury?
- Why Is It So Critical to Treat Depression in People with Brain Injury?
- Why Does Being Active Relieve Depression?
- How Does Ambiguous Loss Impact a Person with a Brain Injury?
About the author: Jesse Fann, MD
Jesse Fann, M.D., M.P.H., is a consultation-liaison psychiatrist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and an adjunct professor in the UW departments of Rehabilitation Medicine and Epidemiology. His clinical interests include consultation-liaison psychiatry, psychiatric oncology and neuropsychiatry. His research interests include psychiatric epidemiology, health services research, psychiatric oncology and neuropsychiatry.
