The relationship between physical and psychological complaints and quality of life in severely injured patients

C.C.H.M. van Delft-Schreurs*, M.A.C. van Son, M.A.C. de Jongh, K.W.W. Lansink, Jolanda de Vries, M.H.J. Verhofstad

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)
178 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first goal was to investigate which variables were associated with the remaining physical limitations of severely injured patients after the initial rehabilitation phase. Second, we investigated whether physical limitations were attributable to the association between psychological complaints and quality of life in this patient group.
Methods
Patients who were 18 years or older and who had an injury severity score (ISS) > 15 completed a set of questionnaires at one time-point after their rehabilitation phase (15–53 months after their trauma). The Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) questionnaire was used to determine physical limitations. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Dutch Impact of Event Scale and the Cognitive Failure Questionnaire were used to determine psychological complaints, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment instrument-BREF was used to measure general Quality of Life (QOL).Differences in physical limitations were investigated for several trauma- and patient-related variables using non-parametric independent-sample Mann-Whitney U tests. Multiple linear regression was performed to investigate whether the decreased QOL of severely injured patients with psychological complaints could be explained by their physical limitations.
Results
Older patients, patients with physical complaints before the injury, patients with higher ISS scores, and patients who had an injury of the spine or of the lower extremities reported significantly more physical problems. Additionally, patients with a low education level, patients who were living alone, and those who were unemployed reported significantly more long-term physical problems.Severely injured patients without psychological complaints reported significantly less physical limitations than those with psychological complaints. The SMFA factor of Lower extremity dysfunction was a confounder of the association between psychological complaints and QOL in all QOL domains.
Conclusions
Long-term physical limitations were mainly reported by patients with psychological complaints. The decreased QOL of severely injured patients with psychological complaints can partially be explained by physical limitations, particularly those involving lower extremity function. Experienced physical limitations were significantly different for some trauma and patient characteristics. These characteristics may be used to select patients for whom a rehabilitation programme would be useful.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1978-1984
JournalInjury
Volume48
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

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