Persistent Symptom Burden Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Is Associated With Lower Quality of Life in...

Nearly one-third of individuals who sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) experience persistent symptoms 3 months or longer, which can significantly impact their quality of life (QoL). These symptoms often span physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep-related domains. To examine the relationship between symptom severity, QoL, and time since injury in individuals with persistent symptoms after mTBI, individuals with mTBI were recruited through a neurology clinic, with matched controls enrolled from the community. Participants completed the World Health Organization QoL-Short version (WHOQOL-BREF), assessing physical, psychological, social, and environmental QoL, the Post Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), measuring cognitive, physical, affective, and sleep symptoms, and time since injury. The Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare outcomes between groups, and Spearman's rank correlation was used to examine relationships between time since injury, PCSS, and QoL domains. Eighteen individuals with mTBI and 21 controls (mean age 55.28 ± 10.54 years) completed the study. The mTBI participants had higher symptom severity across all PCSS domains (p < 0.001) and lower QoL in all domains (p < 0.001). Environmental QoL was moderately correlated with all symptom domains, and physical QoL with physical and sleep symptoms (p < 0.05). Time since injury was not associated with symptom severity or QoL (p > 0.05). Persistent symptoms following mTBI are associated with lower QoL in middle-aged and older adults. Time since injury was not related to symptom severity or QoL. A multidimensional approach that addresses persistent symptoms, psychosocial factors, and environmental factors may improve functional recovery and QoL after injury.