Pre-injury psychosocial and demographic predictors of long-term functional outcomes post-TBI

Objective: To determine whether pre-injury psychosocial and demographic factors differentially influence long-term functional outcomes post-TBI.

Setting: Urban rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: 149 individuals, ages 16-75, who sustained a mild complicated, moderate or severe TBI, were enrolled in a TBI Model System (TBIMS), and had functional outcome data five-15 years post-injury.

Design: Archival data were analysed with SPSS-18 using multiple regression to determine amount of variance accounted for in five functional domains. Predictors included age at injury, pre-injury education, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), pre-injury incarceration and psychiatric history.

Measures: Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), including Cognitive Independence, Physical Independence, Mobility, Occupation and Social Integration domains.

Results: Models were significant for Cognitive and Physical Independence, Mobility, and Occupation. Incarceration and psychiatric history accounted for the most variance in Cognitive and Physical Independence, over and above GCS and age at injury. Psychiatric history was also the strongest predictor of Occupation. Mobility was the only domain in which GCS accounted for the most variance.

Conclusion: Pre-injury psychosocial and demographic factors may be more important than injury severity for predicting some long-term functional outcomes post-TBI. It would likely be beneficial to assess these factors in the inpatient setting, with input from a multidisciplinary team, as an early understanding of prognostic indicators can help guide treatment for optimal functional outcomes.