Article

OBJECTIVE: To track the health-related quality of life (HRQL) at discharge and at
6 and 12 months after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and examine factors
associated with changes in each HRQL domain. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study.
SETTING: Using codes of the International Classification of Diseases, eligible
participants who had a newly diagnosed TBI were identified from discharge records
of 4 hospitals in northern Taiwan. Information on the HRQL and injury-related
characteristics at the initial and 2 follow-up assessments was collected by
extracting medical records and conducting telephone interviews. PARTICIPANTS:
Subjects (N=158) participated in the initial assessment, and 147 and 146,
respectively, completed the follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months after
injury. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The brief version of
the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) with 4 domains of
physical capacity, psychologic well being, social relationships, and environment.
RESULTS: Scores on all WHOQOL-BREF domains except social relationships greatly
improved over the first 6 months and showed continued improvement at 12 months
after injury. The domain scores of the WHOQOL-BREF at discharge were
significantly associated with the preinjury HRQL level, marital status, alcohol
consumption at the time of injury, Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) level, cognition,
activities of daily living, social support, and depressive status. However, after
adjusting for these baseline differences, only the GOS level and depressive
status significantly influenced longitudinal changes in the psychologic and
social domains over the 12-month period. Changes in the physical and
environmental domains were not significantly associated with any characteristics
of the study. CONCLUSIONS: During the first year after a TBI, the magnitude of
HRQL recovery differed across different HRQL domains. Many factors may have
significant associations with the initial domain scores of HRQL after TBI;
however, only a few factors can significantly influence longitudinal changes in
the HRQL.
CI - Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS