The Association Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

In 30 seconds

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined observational studies comparing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI). The review included 21 studies; 18 studies, comprising 3,954,962 participants, contributed to meta-analysis. In unadjusted analyses, TBI was associated with higher odds of any CVD (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.39-2.29), as well as several specific cardiovascular outcomes. Adjusted findings were consistent for coronary artery disease, cardiac death, hypertension, and heart failure. No association was found with heart failure in the unadjusted analysis.

Key findings

• TBI was associated with higher odds of any CVD in unadjusted analysis (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.39-2.29).
• Unadjusted analyses found higher odds of CAD (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.20-1.63) and arrhythmia (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.12-1.80) after TBI.
• Cardiac death was more frequent in the TBI group (RR 3.07, 95% CI 2.17-3.98) in unadjusted analysis.
• No unadjusted association was found between TBI and heart failure (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.96-1.39).

Why it matters

The findings indicate that cardiovascular conditions may be an important part of the longer-term health burden associated with TBI. The reported associations across several outcomes support attention to cardiovascular health in this population, while the observational evidence does not establish that TBI causes these conditions.

What to keep in mind

The evidence comes from observational studies, and two of the 21 included studies were rated poor quality. Several reported associations were from unadjusted analyses.