Outcome after Traumatic Brain Injury

Injuries are among the leading causes of death and disability in the world, often imposing great personal suffering and economic costs. An important severe injury that often affects young people is a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Over the past decades, the number of survivors of severe TBI has rapidly grown, though the disability due to TBI has not appreciably reduced. This has resulted in a shift in attention from mortality towards disability. Policymakers and clinicians are recognising the importance of quantifying the outcomes after TBI to assess the effects of prevention strategies and treatments. Consequently, insight into the incidence, health impact and costs of TBI is essential in order to compare the burden of injuries between patient subgroups and with other diseases, optimise health care policy and prevention, and develop effective health care and rehabilitation services.

In this thesis we assessed the incidence, health-related quality of life, psychiatric consequences and costs of injuries, especially TBI, and the possible improvements of outcome assessment in the injury field.