Validation of Military Occupational Specialty as a Proxy for Blast Exposure Using the Salisbury Blast Interview.

Evaluating large data sets precludes the ability to directly measure individual experiences, instead relying on proxies to infer certain constructs. Blast exposure is a construct of study currently in its infancy, resulting in diverse definitions and measurements across studies. The purpose of the present study was to validate military occupational specialty (MOS) as a proxy for blast exposure in combat veterans.

Sleep moderates symptom experience in combat veterans.

Background: Though sleep disturbance has shown to negatively affect outcomes related to post-deployment conditions, it is unclear whether and how sleep disturbance affects mental health symptoms beyond these conditions. We evaluated the independent and moderating effects of sleep quality on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depressive, and neurobehavioral symptoms beyond mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD diagnosis.

Methods: Participants were 274 US combat veterans who deployed after 9/11.

Comparison of Cognitive Performance on the Cogstate Brief Battery When Taken In-Clinic, In-Group, and Unsupervised.

Objective: Repeat cognitive assessment comparing post-injury performance to a pre-injury baseline is common in concussion management. Although post-injury tests are typically administered in clinical settings, baseline tests may be conducted individually with one-on-one supervision, in a group with supervision, or without supervision. The extent to which these different test settings affect cognitive performance is not well understood.