Citation

Ma HP, Chen PS, Wong CS, Chang CF, Ou JC, Tsai YR, Chiu WT, Tsai SH, Liao KH, Chiang YH, Wang JY, Chen KY, Wu JC. Behav. Neurol. 2019; 2019: e4364592.

Affiliation

Department of Neurosurgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, IOS Press)

DOI

10.1155/2019/4364592

PMID

31110595

PMCID

PMC6487154

Abstract

Introduction. Over 1 million mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) cases are reported annually worldwide and may result in cognitive, physical, and emotional deterioration; depression; anxiety; and sleep problems. However, studies on long-term mTBI effects are limited. This study included 440 patients, and regular follow-ups of psychological assessments were performed for 2 years. Four questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), Beck's anxiety inventory (BAI), and Beck's depression inventory (BDI), were used to evaluate sleep problems, daytime sleepiness, anxiety, and depression, respectively.

RESULTS show that BAI and BDI scores considerably improved at the 6th-week, 1st-year, and 2nd-year follow-ups compared to baseline, yet these remained significantly different. In addition, anxiety and depression were prominent symptoms in a select subgroup of patients with poor initial evaluations, which improved over the 2 years. However, the ESS and PSQI scores fluctuated only mildly over the same time span. In conclusion, the mTBI patients showed a gradual improvement of anxiety and depression over the 2 years following injury. While anxiety and depression levels for mTBI patients in general did not return to premorbid status, improvements were observed. Sleep disorders persisted and were consistent with initial levels of distress.

Language: en