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. 2025 Mar 13:34:e19.
doi: 10.1017/S2045796025000150.

A population-based cohort study of perinatal mental illness following traumatic brain injury

Hilary K Brown  1   2   3   4 , Kinwah Fung  4 , Andrea Mataruga  4 , Rachel Strauss  4 , Vincy Chan  5   6 , Natalie Urbach  7 , Tatyana Mollayeva  5   6 , Angela Colantonio  5   6   8   9 , Eyal Cohen  4   8   10   11   12 , Cindy-Lee Dennis  13   14 , Joel G Ray  4   8   15 , Natasha R Saunders  4   8   10   11   12 , Simone N Vigod  2   3   4   16
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A population-based cohort study of perinatal mental illness following traumatic brain injury

Hilary K Brown et al. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. .

Abstract

Aims: To examine the risk of perinatal mental illness, including new diagnoses and recurrent use of mental healthcare, comparing women with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to identify injury-related factors associated with these outcomes among women with TBI.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada, of all obstetrical deliveries to women in 2012-2021, excluding those with mental healthcare use in the year before conception. The cohort was stratified into women with no remote mental illness history (to identify new mental illness diagnoses between conception and 365 days postpartum) and those with a remote mental illness history (to identify recurrent illnesses). Modified Poisson regression generated adjusted relative risks (aRRs) (1) comparing women with and without TBI and (2) according to injury-related variables (i.e., number, severity, timing, mechanism and intent) among women with TBI.

Results: There were n = 12,724 women with a history of TBI (mean age: 27.6 years [SD, 5.5]) and n = 786,317 without a history of TBI (mean age: 30.6 years [SD, 5.0]). Women with TBI were at elevated risk of a new mental illness diagnosis in the perinatal period compared to women without TBI (18.5% vs. 12.7%; aRR: 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-1.39), including mood and anxiety disorders. Women with a TBI were also at elevated risk for recurrent use of mental healthcare perinatally (35.5% vs. 27.8%; aRR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.14-1.22), including mood and anxiety, psychotic, substance use and other mental health disorders. Among women with a history of TBI, the number of TBI-related healthcare encounters was positively associated with an elevated risk of new-onset mental illness.

Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the need for providers to be attentive to the risk for perinatal mental illness in women with a TBI. This population may benefit from screening and tailored mental health supports and treatment options.

Keywords: brain injuries; cohort study; mental disorders; perinatal care; traumatic brain injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

Eyal Cohen reports paid membership on the Committee to Evaluate Drugs, which advises Ontario’s Ministry of Health on public drug policy. Natasha Saunders receives an honorarium from the BMJ Group (Archives of Disease in Childhood). Simone N. Vigod receives royalties from UpToDate for authorship of materials on depression and pregnancy.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Illustration of the cohort design. We excluded women who used mental health services in the 1-year pre-conception because they were considered to be in active treatment for mental illness. We then stratified our cohort by remote history of mental illness status, defined based on ≥2 physician visits within 2 years of each other, or ≥1 emergency department visits or hospital admissions with a mental illness diagnosis between database inception and 1-year pre-conception. This allowed us to ascertain new mental illness diagnoses (in those without a remote history of mental illness) and recurrent use of mental healthcare (in those with a remote history of mental illness) perinatally.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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