Employment outcome four years after a severe traumatic brain injury: results of the Paris severe traumatic brain injury study

AbstractObjective: To describe employment outcome four years after a severe traumatic brain injury by the assessment of individual patients’ preinjury sociodemographic data, injury-related and postinjury factors.Design: A prospective, multicenter inception cohort of 133 adult patients in the Paris area (France) who had received a severe traumatic brain injury were followed up postinjury at one and four years. Sociodemographic data, factors related to injury severity and one-year functional and cognitive outcomes were prospectively collected.Methods: The main outcome measure was employment status. Potential predictors of employment status were assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: At the four-year follow-up, 38% of patients were in paid employment. The following factors were independent predictors of unemployment: being unemployed or studying before traumatic brain injury, traumatic brain injury severity (i.e., a lower Glasgow Coma Scale score upon admission and a longer stay in intensi...