Patients’ recovery after severe TBI is associated with their close relatives’ interpersonal functioning: a 12-months prospective cohort study

ABSTRACT

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between relatives’ interpersonal functioning and patients’ recovery after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) across one year in Switzerland. Design: This prospective, multi-center cohort study is comprised of 188 adult patients with severe TBI (Abbreviated Head Injury Score > 3) and their relatives. Patients and relatives were assessed 3, 6, and 12 months post-injury. Main outcome measures: Interpersonal functioning (Patient Competency Rating Scale for Neurorehabilitation, PCRS-NR), Physical and Mental Health related Quality of Life (HRQoL, SF-12), and overall functioning (Glasgow Outcome Comma Scale Extended, GOSE). Results: Multilevel analyses showed that relatives’ interpersonal functioning was positively associated with a) patients’ mental HRQoL (p =.002; slope = 2.95; β =.24) independently of age, b) a moderation time*patients’ physical HRQoL among patients > 50 years of age (p <.045; slope = 2.63; β =.2) and c) patients’ GOSE among younger individuals (p <.001; slope =.60; β =.23). Conclusion: These findings show that health and overall functioning are linked with interpersonal dimensions. Thus, the interplay between relatives and patients with TBI needs to be further investigated.

KEYWORDS:

• Traumatic brain injury
• relatives
• interpersonal functioning
• health-related quality of life
• neuropsychological functioning

Acknowledgments

A great thank you to the PEBITA and TRAST-MI teams for their commitment and support. A special thank you to Ellen Langer for directing the first author to the senior authors' lab.

Declaration of interests

All authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The senior author is the PI of TRAST-MI (Chiara S. Haller) and as such received a grant by PEBITA in 2017 for her continuous commitment to investigations in patients with brain disorders. Neither her nor any of the other authors received any financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.