RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Mental health outcomes after major trauma in Ontario: a population-based analysis
JF Canadian Medical Association Journal
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP E1319
OP E1327
DO 10.1503/cmaj.180368
VO 190
IS 45
A1 Christopher C.D. Evans
A1 Yvonne DeWit
A1 Dallas Seitz
A1 Stephanie Mason
A1 Avery Nathens
A1 Stephen Hall
YR 2018
UL http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/45/E1319.abstract
AB BACKGROUND: Major injury continues to be a common source of morbidity and mortality; improving the functional recovery of survivors of major trauma requires a better understanding of the mental health outcomes that may occur in this population. We assessed the association between major trauma and the development of a new mental health diagnosis or death by suicide.METHODS: We completed a population-based, self-controlled, longitudinal cohort analysis using linked administrative data on patients treated for major trauma in Ontario between 2005 and 2010. All survivors were included and composite rates of mental health diagnoses during inpatient admissions were compared between the 5 years after injury and the 5 years before injury, using Poisson regression with generalized estimating equations. The incidence of suicide was calculated for the 5 years after injury. Risk factors for suicide were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression analyses.RESULTS: The analysis included 19 338 patients, predominantly men (70.7%) from urban areas (82.6%), with unintentional (89%), blunt injuries (93.4%). Overall, trauma was associated with a 40% increase in the postinjury rate of mental health diagnoses (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.4, 95% [confidence interval] CI 1.1 to 1.8). The suicide rate was 70 per 100 000 patients per year, substantially higher than the population average. Risk factors for completing suicide were prior inpatient diagnosis of mood disorder (hazard ratio [HR] 4.3, 95% CI 2.1 to 8.8) and self-inflicted injury (HR 7.8, 95% CI 3.9 to 15.4).INTERPRETATION: Survivors of major trauma are at a heightened risk of developing mental health conditions or death by suicide in the years after their injury. Patients with pre-existing mental health disorders or who are recovering from a self-inflicted injury are at particularly high risk.