Citation

Piccinelli M, Patterson M, Braithwaite I, Boot D, Wilkinson G. J. Psychosom. Res. 1999; 46(5): 455-464.

Affiliation

Servizio di Psicologia Medica, Universitá di Verona, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10404480

Abstract

Individuals with severe injuries were investigated 5 years after the traumatic events, and predictors of anxiety and depression disorders were identified. Trauma victims were selected who had an Injury Severity Score of > or = 16 and were brought to all hospitals in the Mersey region and North Wales over 1 year. The 212 patients aged > or = 15 years who left the hospital alive and lived within an accessible distance of the study hospital in Warrington were contacted 5 years later and 158 (74.5%) received follow-up assessment. Thirty-eight subjects (36.9%) reported "definite" anxiety and/or depression disorders and, of these, only 21.1% reported taking psychotropic medications. Factors associated with anxiety and/or depression disorders at follow-up were: sequelae of head injury (i.e., cognitive problems, posttraumatic seizures, facial pain): writing impairment: disability due to thorax problems; and a new trauma during follow-up. Initial severity or types of injuries and overall residual disability rated by the investigator were not strong predictors of anxiety and/or depression disorders at follow-up.

Language: en