title: One-year follow-up of mild traumatic brain injury: cognition, disability and life satisfaction of patients seeking consultation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate cognitive function, symptoms, disabilities and life satisfaction of patients with mild traumatic brain injury who accepted consultation one year post-trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-nine patients (16 accepted the consultation offered, 53 declined).
  
  
  METHODS
  At follow-up, the patients answered questionnaires about symptoms, disabilities (RHFUQ) and life satisfaction (LiSat-11). The patients who underwent consultation and their healthy control subjects were administered a neuropsychological evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the group undergoing consultation, the number of cognitive tests with outcomes below cut-off limits (-1.5 SD) was statistically significantly higher compared with a control group (21 tests in 11 patients vs 8 tests in 7 control subjects; p=0.025). The number of patients with one or more disability was statistically significantly higher among patients with consultation than without (94% and 34%, respectively; p<0.001). Total RHFUQ score was statistically significantly higher for the group with consultation than without (5.9 +/- 3.7 and 1.1 +/- 2.3, respectively, p<0.001). The group with consultation exhibited a lower level of life satisfaction (41.5 +/- 10.4 vs 45.8 +/- 13.8 for the non-consulting group; p=0.057).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high frequency of occurrence of disabilities and lower cognitive functioning, together with the lower level of life satisfaction, appear to characterize patients choosing consultation 1 year post-injury. This highlights the importance of offering consultation for persons suffering mild head injuries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Britt-Marie
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Stålnacke
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Elgh
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sojka
mesh_terms: D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D038223:Post-Concussion Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires