Comorbidity and insurance as predictors of disability after traumatic brain injury

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Study examined the unique contribution of self-reported medical comorbidity and insurance type on disability after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data were obtained from 70 adults with mild-complicated to severe TBI enrolled in the Southeastern Michigan Traumatic Brain Injury System, which is part of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research-funded Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems project. Self-reported medical comorbidities were measured using the Modified Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, while insurance type was classified as commercial or government-funded; disability was measured using the Disability Rating Scale. Two models were run using multiple linear regression, and the best-fitting model was selected on the basis of Bayesian information criterion. The full model, which included self-reported medical comorbidity and insurance type, was significantly better fitting than the reduced model. Participants with a longer duration of posttraumatic amnesia, more self-reported medical comorbidities, and government insurance were more likely to have higher levels of disability. Meanwhile, individual organ systems were not predictive of disability. The cumulative effect of self-reported medical comorbidities and type of insurance coverage predict disability above and beyond well-known prognostic variables. Early assessment of medical complications and improving services provided by government-funded insurance may enhance quality of life and reduce long-term health care costs.

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