Findings on Mental Health Diseases and Conditions Reported by Investigators at University of Sydney (The Contribution of Pre-injury Vulnerability To Risk of Psychiatric Morbidity In Adults Injured In a Road Traffic Crash: Comparisons With …)

2021 AUG 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Disease Prevention Daily -- New research on Mental Health Diseases and Conditions is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Sydney, Australia, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “People who sustain injury in a road traffic crash (RTC) have significant risk of psychiatric morbidity, but effective screening for identifying at-risk individuals soon after the RTC is lacking. We investigated whether pre-injury vulnerability can assist as an early screen to manage this risk.”

Funders for this research include State Insurance Regulatory Authority, Australian Rotary Health.

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from the University of Sydney, “We recruited 120 adults who sustained physical injury in a RTC and admitted to an emergency department (ED). They were comprehensively assessed for acute and long-term presence of psychiatric disorder/morbidity and disability over 12-months after the injury, with comparisons to a non-injury control. Propensity matching based on six pre-injury vulnerability factors (age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, prior mental health, prior physical health) with the control group was used to determine membership of high vulnerability (HV) and low vulnerability (LV) injury sub-groups. Compared to the LV sub-group and controls that had similar pre-injury vulnerability, the HV sub-group had a worrying post-RTC recovery profile, with significantly higher rates of long-term psychiatric morbidity (42.2% vs. 23.1% and 15.9% respectively, p = .002) including post-traumatic stress disorder and/or depression, and poorer psychological adjustment over the 12-months. In contrast, the HV and LV sub-groups were similar in injury-related characteristics and post-injury physical (pain, fatigue, physical functioning) and participation outcomes. Findings provide preliminary evidence that pre-injury vulnerability, primarily prior mental health status, is a promising screen for early identification of people at risk of psychiatric morbidity post-RTC. It is suggested this screen could be implemented in ED to prevent chronicity and improve recovery following a traumatic injury.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Further research is warranted to enhance the screen’s effectiveness.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Contribution of Pre-injury Vulnerability To Risk of Psychiatric Morbidity In Adults Injured In a Road Traffic Crash: Comparisons With Non-injury Controls. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2021;140:77-86. Journal of Psychiatric Research can be contacted at: Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of Psychiatric Research - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-psychiatric-research/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ilaria Pozzato, University of Sydney, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Northern Clinical School, Sydney, Nsw, Australia. Additional authors for this research include Ian Douglas Cameron, Ashley Craig, Yvonne Tran and Bamini Gopinath.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.05.064. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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