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Volume 87, Issue 5, Pages 611-618 (May 2006)


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A Longitudinal Study of Health-Related Quality of Life After Traumatic Brain Injury

Kathleen F. Pagulayan, PhDaCorresponding Author Informationemail address, Nancy R. Temkin, PhDbc, Joan Machamer, MAa, Sureyya S. Dikmen, PhDab

Abstract 

Pagulayan KF, Temkin NR, Machamer J, Dikmen SS. A longitudinal study of health-related quality of life after traumatic brain injury.

Objective

To examine the longitudinal course of health-related quality of life from 1 month to 3 to 5 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design

Longitudinal cohort study with 4 evaluation points.

Setting

Level I trauma center.

Participants

Consecutive hospital admissions of 133 adolescents and adults with complicated mild to severe TBI who completed the outcome measure at all 4 time points, 111 general trauma patients, and 87 healthy friend controls.

Interventions

Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measure

Sickness Impact Profile.

Results

TBI patients reported significant limitations at 1 month postinjury, with substantial improvement occurring by 6 months, especially in the physical domain. Psychosocial improvement was smaller, and perceived cognitive, emotional, and communication difficulties did not change over the time period assessed. Persons with TBI had clear difficulties relative to healthy peers, but their reported level of difficulties was very similar to that of the persons who had sustained a general trauma by 1 year postinjury.

Conclusions

In this sample, TBI was associated with significant early limitations in most aspects of everyday life. Considerable improvement was noted over the first 6 months postinjury, especially in physical domains. Some aspects of psychosocial functioning also improved, although reported limitations in communication, cognitive, and emotional domains remained constant over time. These findings highlight the persistence of injury-related difficulties that compromise quality of life.

a Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

b Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

c Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to Kathleen F. Pagulayan, PhD, Dept of Rehabilitation Medicine, Box 356490, 1959 NE Pacific St, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195

 Supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant no. RO1 NS19643) and National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (grant no. F32 HD048030).

No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.

Reprints are not available from the author.

PII: S0003-9993(06)00102-X

doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2006.01.018


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