Behavioural differences between psychiatric patients with confirmed versus non-confirmed traumatic brain injuries

Abstract

The relationship between history of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and BDI-2 depression scores at admission and discharge from the hospital was assessed in acutely hospitalized psychiatric patients. The participants were assigned to three groups: (1) no reported history of TBI (n = 18), (2) reported but not confirmed TBI history (n = 13), and (3) reported and confirmed TBI history (n = 15). It was found that confirmed history of TBI was associated with elevated BDI-2 depression scores. In contrast, the non-confirmed TBI group was characterized by over-reporting of psychological distress, as measured by MMPI-2 validity indices, 100% prevalence of alcohol use history, and depression scores that were intermediate between the control and confirmed TBI groups.

Traumatic Brain Injury History Among Individuals Using Mental Health and Addictions Services: A Scoping Review

“…Seven studies assessed the severity of participants' mental health symptoms 29–31,35,37,39,49,53. Four studies used various structured scales for symptom assessment29,30,35,39,53 and 3 used unstructured methods 31,37,49. Five studies found that TBI status was associated with more severe mental health symptoms29,30,37,39,49,53 (such as increased psychological distress29,30 or depression scale scores39,53), while 2 found no relationship 31,35…”

“…TBI was operationalized heterogeneously between the included studies. For example, 10 studies included only head injuries resulting in loss of consciousness and/or requiring medical care,33,34,38,39,47–49,53,55 while others sought specifically mild TBIs 41,46…”

“…Seven studies assessed the severity of participants' mental health symptoms 29–31,35,37,39,49,53. Four studies used various structured scales for symptom assessment29,30,35,39,53 and 3 used unstructured methods 31,37,49.…”

“…Included documents were published between 1990 and 2018, originating from the United States (n = 23), Canada (n = 2), the United Kingdom (n = 2), New Zealand (n = 1), and Norway (n = 1). Studies were recruited from diverse inpatient, outpatient, and community-based programs described as psychiatry/mental health, [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] substance use, [49][50][51][52][53] concurrent disorders, 54,55 and forensic programs. 56,57 Only 3 studies focused on participants with a specific psychiatric diagnosis 35,38,46 and all but one 52 included male and female participants.…”

“…Twelve studies used bivariate analyses (eg, t tests or χ 2 tests) to establish an association between TBI and other variables, 31,34,37,[42][43][44]47,50,[54][55][56][57] while 10 studies included multivariable analyses to establish a relationship between variables and TBI history. 29,30,33,35,36,38,39,41,46,49,53…”