HEAD-INJURY IN YOUNG-ADULTS - LONG-TERM OUTCOME

Objective: To describe the long-term outcome 5 years after injury of y oung adults who were 15 to 19 years old at the time of their head inju ries. Design: A retrospective cohort. The health records of 62 consecu tive eligible subjects were abstracted for baseline sociodemographic, health, and injury variables. A telephone interview was administered t o assess quality of life, impairment, disability, and handicap. Settin g: Canada's largest trauma center, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, T oronto, Canada. Subjects: Of the 58 subjects (94%) who were traced at follow-up, 51 agreed to participate. Main Outcome Measures: The Medica l Outcomes Study SF-36, Head Injury Symptom Checklist, selected disabi lity measures, Community Integration Questionnaire. Results: Of the 8 summary items of the Medical Outcomes Study SF-36, subjects scored low est on mental health. There were no significant differences between mi ld and more severely injured groups in all quality of life measures. S ubjects classified with mild head injury overall reported more symptom s from the Head Injury Symptom Checklist. Subjects with more severe in juries had lower community integration scores (p < .05). Conclusions: Overall, mental health is an important area of concern at follow-up fo r all subjects. Adolescents with apparent mild head injury can have di sabling symptoms many years after injury. (C) 1998 by the American Con gress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.