Prevalence and clinical significance of sensory changes after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury: A cross-sectional study

Background

Sensory changes are commonly observed in individuals with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) but remain under-researched.

Objectives

This study examined the prevalence of sensory changes after msTBI and relationships with emotional distress, functional disability, and life satisfaction.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted including 387 participants with msTBI (mean years post-injury, 12.8; range = 0.4–35.0 years) and 60 controls, not matched on age and sex but recruited in the same period. Self-reported sensory symptoms were assessed using a custom checklist and the Somatic Symptom Scale–8 (SSS-8). Emotional distress, functional disability, and life satisfaction were measured through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 12-Item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0), and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). We compared the frequency of sensory symptoms between groups and examined associations with demographics, injury factors, and clinical outcomes within the msTBI sample.

Results

70% with msTBI reported experiencing ≥1 sensory changes due to their brain injury, and 35% reported experiencing dizziness in the previous week, averaging 2.2 symptoms in total, which was significantly higher than controls after adjusting for age and sex. Sensory changes were more common in younger participants (light hypersensitivity), females (light and noise hypersensitivity), those with more severe TBI (overall sensory changes, affected vision, reduced smell), and those fewer years post-injury (overall sensory changes, noise hypersensitivity, reduced smell, altered taste, dizziness), though many of these associations did not survive multiple comparison correction. Sensory changes were clearly and consistently associated with worse clinical outcomes, with medium-large effect sizes for emotional distress and functional disability and smaller effects for life satisfaction.

Conclusions

Although causality cannot be established, these findings suggest that sensory changes are a clinically significant issue after msTBI, even among individuals more than a decade post-injury on average. This underscores the need for routine assessment and further research on underlying mechanisms and interventions.