Affective and Cognitive Conditions are Stronger Predictors of Success with Community Reintegration than Gait and Balance Performance in Veterans with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract

IntroductionOptimal community reintegration is an integral part of the clinical management of patients with mild traumatic brain injury.Background/ObjectiveWe sought the contribution and inter-relation of such variables as balance, executive function, and affective regulation to the community reintegration of veterans with mTBI.MethodsWe examined the statistical relationship among the above variables by conducting a series of objective evaluations to assess the balance, gait, executive function, affective regulation, and scores representing the patients’ issues with community reintegration. The data were statistically analyzed for correlation and regression.ResultsHigh correlation was found among scores for balance and gait, executive function and affective regulation. The first and second best predictors of success with patient’s community reintegration were data representing affective regulation and cognitive impairments, respectively. However, the data for dynamic balance correlated weakly and insignificantly with scores for the three subsets of community reintegration.ConclusionsWe revealed varying degrees of correlation among balance, executive function and affective regulation, and as they related to the community reintegration success of patients with mTBI. The strongest, intermediate and weakest predictors for these patients’ success with community reintegration represented those for affective regulation, executive function, and dynamic balance and gait performance, respectively.