title: The natural history of drinking and alcohol-related problems after traumatic brain injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe changes in drinking from before traumatic brain injury (TBI) to 1 year after TBI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inception cohort with 1-year follow-up.
  
  
  METHODS
  Level I trauma center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults (N=197) hospitalized with a broad range of head injury severity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Drinking and alcohol-related problems decreased substantially from preinjury to 1 year after TBI. However, about one quarter of the sample reported heavy drinking, significant problems, or both during the first year after TBI. Preinjury alcohol use and problems were highly predictive of heavy use and problems after TBI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although drinking and alcohol-related problems decreased after TBI, there appears to be an ongoing need for prevention and intervention efforts. Screening for preinjury alcohol problems can be used to identify the vast majority of persons who will develop alcohol-related problems within 1 year after injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. chb@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bombardier
authors.forename: Nancy R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Temkin
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Machamer
authors.forename: Sureyya S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Dikmen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors