Predictors of social function and quality of life in patients with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Cognitive deficits as well as affective and physical symptoms are common after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, little is known about how these deficits affect functional outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between neuropsychological, affective and physical sequelae and outcomes such as social function and quality of life in patients with TBI. We studied these relationships in 57 patients with TBI over the course of 6 months post-injury. The patients completed neuropsychological assessments, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III, the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test, and verbal fluency test. Affective and physical symptoms were assessed by beck depression inventory-II, Chalder fatigue scale, and Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Functional outcomes were assessed using the world health organization (WHO) disability assessment rated by others and the WHO quality of life assessment (WHO/QOL 26). The patients showed impairments in executive function assessed by verbal fluency test. The affective and physical assessments showed mild depressive mood and fatigue problem. Multiple regression analysis revealed that executive function and depressive mood were the best predictors of social function and quality of life, respectively. The findings of this study suggest that executive function and depressive mood are important factors to predict functional outcomes in patients with TBI.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.