@article{ref1,
title="Prevalence of post-concussion-like symptoms in the general population in Italy, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom",
journal="Brain injury",
year="2019",
author="Voormolen, Daphne Cloë and Cnossen, Maryse C. and Polinder, Suzanne and Gravesteijn, Benjamin Y. and von Steinbuechel, Nicole and Real, Ruben G. L. and Haagsma, Juanita A.",
volume="33",
number="8",
pages="1078-1086",
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. <br><br>METHODS: A web-based survey including the RPQ and EQ-5D was conducted among representative samples in three European countries. <br><br>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'. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0269-9052",
doi="10.1080/02699052.2019.1607557",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2019.1607557"
}