Preinjury characteristics of children with mild traumatic brain injury: Is “other injury” an appropriate comparison group”?

ABSTRACT

Background: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been associated with ongoing problems in children and young people. However, there remains to be considerable debate regarding whether outcomes are a result of brain impairment, or simply reflect preinjury characteristics of the child or family. To reliably assess outcomes, an appropriate control group is required. Aims: This study aimed to identify the preinjury characteristics of children with mTBI, and to examine whether an “other injury to the head” group is an appropriate comparison to control for preinjury characteristics of children with mTBI. Method: Parents of 290 children admitted to the emergency department with either a diagnosis of mTBI (n = 186, M = 6.44 years) or a superficial injury to the head (SIH) (n = 104, M = 5.40 years) were assessed. Parents completed three questionnaires examining behavioral problems (Clinical Assessment of Behavior), parental stress (Parenting Stress Index), and background variables (e.g., medical issues, socioeconomic factors). Results: A series of chi-square analyses and multivariate analysis of variance tests revealed no differences for behavior, parental stress, and other preexisting problems between children with mTBI and those with SIH. Conclusions: Children who experience a mTBI event present similarly to individuals with a SIH, and SIH is an appropriate comparison group to examine the outcomes of childhood mTBI, as it may help minimize any confounding effects of preexisting issues associated with mTBI.

KEYWORDS:

• Mild traumatic brain injury
• preschool
• school age
• preinjury
• concussion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

A. McKinlay was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Health Research Council/Accident Compensation Corporation of New Zealand;