Citation

Voormolen DC, Cnossen MC, Polinder S, Gravesteijn BY, von Steinbuechel N, Real RGL, Haagsma JA. Brain Inj. 2019; 33(8): 1078-1086.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine , Erasmus University Medical Centre , Rotterdam , the Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02699052.2019.1607557

PMID

31032649

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the frequency of post-concussion symptoms and prevalence and risk factors of post-concussion syndrome (PCS) in the general population, investigate the association between the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) and self-perceived health, and evaluate differences between three European countries.

METHODS: A web-based survey including the RPQ and EQ-5D was conducted among representative samples in three European countries.

RESULTS: A total of 11,759 respondents completed the questionnaire. The most frequently reported symptom was fatigue (49.9%). Almost half (45.1%) of the respondents were classified as having PCS considering rating score 2 (three RPQ items with score ≥ 2) as a cut-off. Chronic health complaints were found as a significant risk factor for PCS. All items of the RPQ were positively correlated with the EQ-5D and the strongest positive correlation (0.633, p<0.001) was between RPQ item 'feeling depressed or tearful' and EQ-5D domain 'anxiety/depression'.

CONCLUSIONS: We found a high frequency of post-concussion-like symptoms and PCS in the general population, indicating that these symptoms are not specific for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and PCS is not a unique syndrome after TBI. Therefore, the use of post-concussion symptoms and PCS as outcome following mild TBI should be interpreted with caution.

Language: en

Keywords

Post-concussion symptoms; post-concussion syndrome; quality of life; rivermead post-concussion symptoms questionnaire; traumatic brain injury