Cognitive functioning in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury

Background. Modern clinical research demonstrates that both PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are associated with persistent cognitive impairments, including deficits in attention, memory, and executive functioning. These comorbid conditions are especially prevalent among veterans and significantly influence daily functioning, treatment outcomes, and long-term rehabilitation. Timely diagnosis and trauma-focused multidisciplinary intervention are essential for improving quality of life in this population. Purpose – to investigate the peculiarities of cognitive functioning in veterans with PTSD and mTBI. Materials and Methods. 329 veterans ( with PTSD (n = 109), with mild TBI (n = 112), and with comorbid PTSD+mTBI (n = 108) were examined cognitive function using StroopCWIT, VFT, TMT, ROCFT. Results. The decrease in cognitive functioning was more significant in patients with PTSD, especially in the group PTSD/TBI. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient for the indicators of the StroopCWIT, VFT, TMT, ROCFT and CAPS-5 representatives in the PTSD group the dynamic parameters of attention, as well as the rigidity of cognitive control, are related to the expressiveness of «intrusion» symptoms. In the TBI group an increase in the level of distress (G) and dissociative symptoms of PTSD (dCAPS), the level of interference, as a result of the conflict of verbal and sensory-perceptual functions, increased, while greater abilities in copying were associated with less expressiveness avoidance symptoms and depersonalizationderealization symptoms in PTSD. Conclusions. Cognitive functioning was impaired in patients of all clinical groups and present as a decrease in indicators of visual-motor coordination, including the distribution of attention and its voluntary regulation, mental mobility, visual planning skills, etc., as well as a deterioration of working memory and executive function.