History of concussions before birth may increase risk of serious mental illness, finds study

A new study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that the mothers with a history of concussions before birth were more likely to have serious mental illness which underscored the significance of screening and supportive care for this high-risk population. A history of mental illness, a lack of social support, and a history of abuse or violence are some of the established risk factors for severe maternal mental illness. However, without these risk factors, a large number of people who give birth suffer from serious mental illness consequences.

The research investigated the association between predelivery concussion history and risk for severe maternal mental illness because concussions are the most prevalent traumatic brain injury and carry a risk for mental disease in the general population. A population-based cohort study of singleton livebirths in Ontario, Canada, was carried out between 2007 and 2017 with a follow-up until 2021. Severe maternal mental illness, as indicated by a visit to a mental health emergency room, a psychiatric hospitalization, or self-harm or suicide within 14 years after giving birth, was the main result.

Adjusted for maternal age, parity, neighborhood income quintile, rural residence, immigration status, chronic conditions, history of interpersonal violence, and history of mental illness, Cox proportional hazards regression produced adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing those with a record of a health care encounter for concussion between database inception and the index delivery date versus those without a recorded health care encounter for concussion.

There were a total of 7,36,689 birthing individuals without a history of concussions and 18,064 with a history. The incidence of severe maternal mental disorder was higher among individuals with a history of concussions than among the individuals without (14.7 vs. 7.9 per 1,000 person-years; aHR 1.25, 95% CI, 1.20–1.31). The mothers without a history of mental illness showed the greatest connection after being stratified by predelivery history of mental disease. 

Overall, to minimize negative mental consequences, the findings of this study highlight the necessity of early identification and screening of pregnant women with a history of concussions, as well as continuous long-term assistance utilizing trauma-informed techniques. Birthing mothers with a history of concussions may also benefit from continuous mental health screening by their main care physician in the months and years after delivery, since they are a high-risk population.

Reference:

Krueger, S., Vigod, S. N., Chan, V., Mollayeva, T., Alonzo, R., Chung, H., & Brown, H. K. (2024). History of Concussion and Risk of Severe Maternal Mental Illness. In The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Vol. 85, Issue 4). Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.24m15373