Citation

Wood RL, Rutterford NA. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2006; 7(10): 1180-1184.

Affiliation

Universtiy of Wales Swansea, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/jnnp.2006.091553

PMID

16772355

PMCID

PMC2077538

Abstract

Intelligence was assessed in a group of 74 head injured cases, 16 years after injury (X = 16.77 years; range 10- 32) and compared to their performance when assessed at an early stage in recovery (X = 1.05 years) The aim of the study was to determine (a) the presence of long term impairment relative to estimates of pre-accident ability, (b) signs of deterioration between early (T1) and late (T2) measures, and (c) relationships between severity of injury, time since injury, length of education, gender and age, with performance on tests of intelligence at T2. Based on evidence from other studies, we expected to find a significant difference between estimates of pre-accident intelligence and abilities measured at T1 and T2. We also expected to record deterioration in performance between T1 and T2, and find relationships between demographic variables, injury severity and intellectual performance. The data supported long term intellectual impairment, but there was no deterioration in abilities between T1 and T2. Performance on intelligence tests was associated with years of education but not with other factors.
Language: en