Predictors of Post-TBI Psychiatric Disorders Identified

History of depression or anxiety before a traumatic brain injury (TBI) together with other factors, are strong predictors of psychiatric illness after TBI, reveals study published in Journal of Neurotrauma.

In addition to a pre-injury psychiatric disorder, two other factors are early indicators of an increased risk for psychiatric illness one year after a TBI: psychiatric symptoms during the acute post-injury period, and a concurrent limb injury. Kate Rachel Gould, DPsych, Jennie Louise Ponsford, PhD, Lisa Johnston, PhD, and Michael Sch'nberger, PhD, Epworth Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and University of Freiburg, Baden-W'rttemberg, Germany, also describe a link between risk of psychiatric symptoms and unemployment, pain, and poor quality of life during the 12-month post-TBI period.

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Head injury or traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of disability among children and young adults that leads to varying degrees of physical and mental stability. Fortunately, it is also one of the preventable brain disorder.

In the presence of a limb injury, patients who suffered a TBI had a 6.4 greater risk of psychiatric disorders at 1 year, and a 4-fold greater risk of depression in particular, compared to patients without a limb injury. The authors report their findings in the article, "Predictive and Associated Factors of Psychiatric Disorders after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Prospective Study."

Source-Eurekalert

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