The Frequency of Neuropsychiatric Sequelae After Traumatic Brain Injury in the Global South

Abstract

Countries in the 'global south' are characterized by factors that contribute to the increased incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of neuropsychiatric sequelae following a TBI, specifically among the Western Asian, South Asian, and African regions of the global south. A literature review was conducted until August 20, 2021, for publications that measured psychiatric or cognitive impairment after TBI from the 83 countries that constitute the aforementioned regions. The main databases, such as PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed/MEDLINE, ProQuest (English), Al-Manhal (Arabic) and Google Scholar, were selected for grey literature. Following the evaluation of the articles using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, the random effects model was used to estimate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD), sleep disturbance related to TBI (TBI-SD), obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and cognitive impairment. Of 56 non-duplicated studies identified by the initial search, 27 studies were eligible for systematic review and 23 for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of depression in a total sample of 1882 was 35·35% (95% CI=24·64–46·87%), of anxiety in a total sample of 1211 was 28·64% (95% CI=17·99–40·65%), of PTSD in a total sample of 426 was 19·94% (95% CI=2·35–46·37%), of OCD in a total sample of 313 was 19·48% (95% CI=0·23–58·06%), of TBI–SD in a total sample of 562 was 26·67% (95% CI=15·63–39·44%), and cognitive impairment in a total sample of 941 was 49·10% (95% CI=31·26–67·07%). To date, this is the first critical review that has examined the spectrum of post–TBI neuropsychiatric sequelae in the specified regions. While existing studies lack homogeneous data due to variability in the diagnostic tools and outcome measures utilised, the reported prevalence rates are significant and comparable to statistics from the global north.
 Keywords: traumatic brain injury; neuropsychiatric sequelae; global south; systematic review; meta-analysis; cognitive impairment; anxiety; depression