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A cross-sectional study of psychological complaints and quality of life in severely injured patients

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of psychological complaints and the relationship of these complaints with the quality of life (QOL) and accident- and patient-related factors among severely injured patients after the rehabilitation phase.

Methods

Patients of 18 years or older with an injury severity score above 15 were included 15–53 months after their accident. Accident and patient characteristics were obtained from questionnaires and the trauma registry. Several questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Impact of Events Scale, and Cognitive Failure Questionnaire) were used to determine the symptoms of psychological problems (anxiety or depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or subjective cognitive complaints, respectively). The World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref was used to determine QOL. A reference group of the Dutch general population was used for comparison of QOL scores.

Results

The participation rate was 62 % (n = 173). At the time of the study, 30.1 % (n = 52) of the investigated patients had psychological complaints. No relation between psychological complaints and somatic severity or type of injury was found. Patients who were employed before the accident or resumed working reported less psychological complaints. Use of any medication before the accident and treatment for pre-accidental psychological problems were positively related to psychological complaints afterwards. QOL of severely injured patients was impaired in comparison with the general Dutch population, but only for those with psychological complaints.

Conclusions

Psychological complaints seem to be an important and underestimated factor for a decreased QOL among severely injured patients.

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Conflict of interest

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Traumacentre Brabant, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    C. C. H. M. van Delft-Schreurs & M. A. C. de Jongh

  2. Medical Psychology, Maxima Medisch Centrum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    J. J. M. van Bergen

  3. Department of Medical Psychology, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    P. van de Sande & J. de Vries

  4. Department of Surgery, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    M. H. J. Verhofstad

  5. Department of Trauma Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    M. H. J. Verhofstad

  6. CoRPS, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    J. de Vries

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  1. C. C. H. M. van Delft-Schreurs
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  2. J. J. M. van Bergen
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  3. P. van de Sande
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  5. J. de Vries
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  6. M. A. C. de Jongh
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Correspondence to C. C. H. M. van Delft-Schreurs.

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van Delft-Schreurs, C.C.H.M., van Bergen, J.J.M., van de Sande, P. et al. A cross-sectional study of psychological complaints and quality of life in severely injured patients. Qual Life Res 23, 1353–1362 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-013-0546-y

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