Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine relationships among chronic stress, fatigue-related
quality of life (QOL-F), and related covariates after mild to moderate traumatic
brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: Observational and cross-sectional. PARTICIPANTS: A
total of 84 community-dwelling individuals with mild to moderate TBI recruited
from multiple out patient rehabilitation clinics assessed on average 15 months
after injury. METHOD: Self-report surveys and chart abstraction. MEASURES:
Neurofunctional Behavioral Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale-14, Impact of Events
Scale, McGill Pain Short-form Scale, and modified version of the Fatigue Impact
Scale. RESULTS: QOL-F was associated with somatic symptoms, perceived situational
stress, but not with event-related stress (posttraumatic stress disorder
symptoms) related to index TBI, preinjury demographic, or postinjury
characteristics. Somatic symptoms and chronic situational stress accounted for
42% of the variance in QOL-F. CONCLUSIONS: QOL-F in community-dwelling
individuals with mild to moderate TBI is associated with chronic situational
stress and somatic symptoms. Symptom management strategies may need to include
general stress management to reduce fatigue burden and improve quality of life.

Langue : ANGLAIS