Neurocognitive correlates of probable posttraumatic stress disorder following traumatic brain injury

Neurocognitive problems associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can interact with impairment resulting from traumatic brain injury (TBI).

We aimed to identify neurocognitive problems associated with probable PTSD following TBI in a civilian sample.

The study is part of the CENTER-TBI project (Collaborative European Neurotrauma Effectiveness Research) that aims to better characterize TBI. For this cross-sectional study, we included patients of all severities aged over 15, and a Glasgow Outcome Score Extended (GOSE) above 3. Participants were assessed at six months post-injury on the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Primary analysis was a complete case analysis. Regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between the PCL-5 and cognition.

Of the 1134 participants included in the complete case analysis, 13.5% screened positive for PTSD. Probable PTSD was significantly associated with higher TMT-(B-A) (OR ​= ​1.35, 95% CI: 1.14-1.60, p ​< ​.001) and lower RAVLT-delayed recall scores (OR ​= ​0.74, 95% CI: 0.61-0.91, p ​= ​.004) after controlling for age, sex, psychiatric history, baseline Glasgow Coma Scale and education.

Poorer performance on cognitive tests assessing task switching and, to a lesser extent, delayed verbal recall is associated with probable PTSD in civilians who have suffered TBI.