title: Parents' traumatic brain injury increases their children's risk for use of psychiatric care: the 1987 Finnish Birth Cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Traumatic brain injury (TBI) of a parent causes significant changes in their family life and parent-children relationships. However, the number of children affected by parental TBI and the long-term consequences for these children remain unknown. We estimated the prevalence of children affected by parental TBI and investigated whether these children had greater use of psychiatric services than their peers.
  
  
  METHODS
  This a retrospective population-based register study. All 60,069 children born in Finland in 1987 were followed up through national health and social registers from 1987 to 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the 21-year follow-up, 1532 (2.6%) children had a parent with TBI. Overall, 22.5% of those having a parent with TBI were treated in specialized psychiatric care. Use of psychiatric care was significantly increased among those cohort members with a parent with mild [odds ratio (OR) 1.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-2.38] or severe (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.12-1.98) TBI compared to their peers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental TBI is associated with increased use of specialized psychiatric services by children. Adult health care services must have appropriate systems in place to address the psychosocial needs and support the welfare and development of children of patients with TBI.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: mika.niemela@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niemelä
authors.affiliation: Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Lotta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kinnunen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Children, Young People and Families Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Reija
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paananen
authors.affiliation: Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Helinä
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hakko
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Children, Young People and Families Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merikukka
authors.affiliation: Oulu University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Vesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Karttunen
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Information Department, Helsinki, Finland, Nordic School of Public Health NHV, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gissler
authors.affiliation: Oulu Deaconess Institute, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Räsänen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005220:Fathers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009035:Mothers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Children; Parental TBI; Psychiatric care