title: The effect of postinjury depression on quality of life following minor injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe quality of life (QoL) in the year following minor injury and to test the hypothesis that individuals with depression in the postinjury year experience lower QoL than do individuals with no depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, longitudinal, cohort design. A total of 275 adults were randomly selected from injured patients presenting to an urban emergency department.
  
  
  METHODS
  All participants underwent structured psychiatric diagnostic interviews immediately after injury and at 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome, QoL, was measured using the Quality of Life Index. Covariates included demographics, injury status, preinjury functional status, preinjury social support, and anticipation of problems postdischarge. The General Estimating Equation was used to compare changes in QoL between participants with and without depression over 3, 6, and 12 months, adjusting for covariates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An 18.1% proportion (95% confidence interval [CI] 13.3, 22.9%) of the sample met criteria for a mood disorder in the postinjury year. The depressed group reported a QoL that was 4.2 points (95% CI 2.8-5.6) lower in the year postinjury compared with that of the nondepressed group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Depression after minor injury negatively affects QoL even a full year postinjury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study show that patients who have injuries that are treated and discharged from an emergency department can have significantly lower QoL in the year after that injury that is attributed, in part, to postinjury depression. Nurses should provide anticipatory guidance to patients that they may experience feelings of sadness or being "blue," and that if they do, they should seek care.
authors.affiliation: Xi, Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Therese S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Richmond
authors.forename: Wensheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Theimann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ackerson
authors.forename: Judd
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hollander
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gracias
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amsterdam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Cohort study; depression; injuries; quality of life; trauma