Pandemic Stress and Mediation of Depression Symptoms After Traumatic Brain Injury in Women Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Corry DT, Sadler AG, Mengeling MA, Cook BL, Smith JL, Hamilton AB, Platt JM, Torner JC. Pandemic Stress and Mediation of Depression Symptoms After Traumatic Brain Injury in Women Veterans: A Cross-Sectional Study. Military medicine. 2026 Jan 1; 191(1-2):e310-e318, DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usaf391.

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Abstract:

INTRODUCTION: Stress from the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a profound impact on the mental health of Reserve and National Guard (RNG) women Veterans, especially if they have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the potential mediating effect of stress stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic on the association between TBI and depression symptoms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women RNG Veterans between the ages of 18 and 60 were interviewed about their lifetime history of TBI, symptoms of depression, and any stressful experiences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Using interview responses, we utilized exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to approximate COVID-19 stress. We then used the results from EFA in mediation analysis of linear regression models of TBI history on depression. Ethical approval for the study and analyses was obtained from the University of Iowa Institutional Review Board (IRB) (IRB ID #201911171). RESULTS: We identified 9 items across a 3-factor model ("Stress about Daily Necessities," "Stress about Health," "Increasing Alcohol Use") that approximated COVID-19 stress. Of the 351 women Veterans included in this study, 145 (41.3%) had history of TBI. Those with TBI had more severe symptoms of depression (risk difference: 1.81, 95% CI: 0.41-3.20) than those without TBI. Total COVID-19 stress mediated the association between TBI and symptoms of depression (indirect effect: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.24-1.21; 35.5% mediated). Stress about Daily Necessities alone also mediated the TBI-depression association (indirect effect: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.44-0.84; 34.8% mediated). CONCLUSIONS: Women RNG Veterans with prior TBI reported more severe depression symptoms than those without TBI, and these depression symptoms seem to be exacerbated upon the introduction of stress because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research of this complex TBI-stress-depression relationship should be longitudinal in nature, especially as the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to emerge, to understand how events that introduce significant economic and health-related consequences affect how symptoms of depression and responses to stress evolve over time.