Authors
Naomi Bennett, Shane W Adams, Joyce S Chung, Jennifer Terry, Shaliza Shorey, Daniel B Herrick, Maria Bederson, Odette A Harris
Published in
Brain injury. Pages 1-9. Jul 12, 2026. Epub Jul 12, 2026.
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and childhood social determinants of health (SDOH) are associated with poorer health outcomes in adults, but their impact on rehabilitation and functional outcomes post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unclear.
To examine the potential impact of ACEs/SDOH on symptom and functional outcomes following TBI-related rehabilitation in veterans.
Participants included 140 veterans enrolled in Veterans Affairs (VA) polytrauma rehabilitation programs between 2010-2024 who completed supplemental assessment of ACEs, SDOH, and other childhood trauma.
Participants with more ACEs had significantly lower Functional Independence Measure (FIM) Total and Motor score improvements from admission to discharge. SDOH and other childhood trauma were also significantly correlated with lower FIM Motor score improvements. When controlling for hospitalization length, more ACEs were associated with lower FIM Motor score improvements (β = -.245, p = 0.02) and marginally associated with lower FIM Total score improvements (β = -.205, p = 0.06) following TBI-related rehabilitation.
Higher ACEs were associated with less FIM Motor function improvement following TBI-related rehabilitation in veterans. ACEs may be associated with differences in functional motor outcomes in veterans following TBI, contributing to heterogeneous rehabilitation outcomes. Systematic integration of potential childhood adversities into rehabilitation may optimize outcomes for veterans who have been disproportionately affected.
PMID:
42437364
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Jul 2026.
Read full publication at:
Please sign in
to see all details.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 14
- Comments 0