Hospitalization associated with traumatic brain injury in the active duty US Army: 2000-2006.

OBJECTIVE to determine the potential impacts of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) on the incidence of TBI-related hospitalization in the active duty US Army. METHODS All active duty Army personnel hospitalized with a TBI diagnosis during fiscal years 2000 through 2006 were identified in an administrative database. Annual crude incidence rates were calculated. Two-year adjusted incidence rates were calculated to compare TBI-related hospitalization rates in the Army to rates in the age-comparable segment of the US civilian population. RESULTS The overall incidence of TBI-related hospitalization in the active duty Army increased 105% from FY2000 to FY2006. There was a 60-fold increase in the hospitalization rate for TBIs attributed to weapons. The increases in TBI hospitalizations coincided with the occurrence of OEF/OIF. During OEF/OIF, the Army's hospitalization rates for moderate and severe TBIs were lower than civilian rates; however, the Army's hospitalization rate for mild TBIs was higher than civilian rates. CONCLUSION OEF/OIF appear to have had a substantial impact on TBI-related hospitalization rates in the active duty US Army but differences between Army and civilian rates were not as excessive as expected.