Citation

Alway YJ, Gould K, McKay A, Johnston L, Ponsford J. J. Neurotrauma 2015; 33(9): 825-831.

Affiliation

Monash University , School of Psychology and Psychiatry , Monash University , Clayton, Victoria, Australia , 3800 ; jennie.ponsford@monash.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2015.3992

PMID

26176500

Abstract

Increasing evidence indicates that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop following traumatic brain injury (TBI), despite most patients having no conscious memory of their accident. This prospective study examined the frequency, timing of onset, symptom profile, and trajectory of PTSD and its psychiatric comorbidities during the first four years following moderate to severe TBI. Participants were 85 individuals (78.8% male) with moderate or severe TBI recruited following admission to acute rehabilitation between 2005 and 2010. Using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID-I), participants were evaluated for pre- and postinjury PTSD soon after injury and reassessed at 6 and 12 months, 2, 3, and 4 years postinjury. Over the first four years postinjury 17.6% developed injury-related PTSD, none of whom had PTSD prior to injury. PTSD onset peaked between 6- and 12-months postinjury. The majority of PTSD cases (66.7%) had a delayed-onset, which for a third was preceded by subsyndromal symptoms in the first six months postinjury. PTSD frequency increased over the first year postinjury, remained stable during the second year and gradually declined thereafter. The majority with PTSD experienced a chronic symptom course and all developed one or more comorbid psychiatric disorder, with mood, other anxiety and substance-use disorders being the most common. Despite event-related amnesia, posttraumatic stress symptoms, including vivid re-experiencing phenomena, may develop following moderate to severe TBI. Onset is typically delayed and symptoms may persist for several years postinjury.

Language: en