Absence from work in the 12 months following mild traumatic brain injury in Europe: a CENTER-TBI cohort study

Background: Most of the prior research on absence from work after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) was of a small sample size and had a limited number of follow-up assessments. Objectives: Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of absence from work, trajectories, and associated factor...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jacob L, Castro J, Heslot C, Andelic N, Tenovuo O, Azouvi P
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
Repositorio:r-FSJD. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica de la Fundació Sant Joan de Déu
OAI Identifier:oai:fsjd.fundanetsuite.com:p29171
Acceso en línea:https://fsjd.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=29171
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Absence from work
Epidemiology
Europe
Mild traumatic brain injury
Trajectories
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Most of the prior research on absence from work after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) was of a small sample size and had a limited number of follow-up assessments. Objectives: Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of absence from work, trajectories, and associated factors in the 12 months following mTBI in Europe. Methods: Data from a European cohort (CENTER-TBI) were used. Absence from work was assessed at 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after mTBI. Associated factors included sociodemographic factors, current psychoactive substance use, pre-injury medical history, injury-related factors, medical care, complications, and discharge, and 2-week follow-up questionnaires. Inferential analyses relied on generalized estimating equations. Results: This study included 1080 adults with mTBI who were working at the time of the injury (median [IQR] age, 46.0 [23.0] years; 69 % men). Absence from work decreased from 32 % at 2 weeks to 20 % at 12 months after the injury (P < 0.001). Around 76 % of adults returned to work within the first 3 months, whereas > 43 % of those absent from work at 3 months remained absent at 12 months. The 3 factors with the strongest association with absence from work were admission to hospital wards (OR = 2.57) or intensive care units (OR = 4.76), the presence of a pre-injury psychiatric disorder (OR = 2.55), and older age (OR = 1.61). Conclusions: One-fifth of workers with mTBI were absent from work 12 months after the injury. Early identification of those at particular risk for not returning to work should be a clinical priority.