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Article
Use of serial smartphone-based assessments to characterize diverse neuropsychiatric symptom trajectories in a large trauma survivor cohort
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  • Niels Rathlev, MD, Baystate Health
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Abstract

The authors sought to characterize adverse posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS) symptom trajectories across ten symptom domains (pain, depression, sleep, nightmares, avoidance, re-experiencing, anxiety, hyperarousal, somatic, and mental/fatigue symptoms) in a large, diverse, understudied sample of motor vehicle collision (MVC) survivors. More than two thousand MVC survivors were enrolled in the emergency department (ED) and completed a rotating battery of brief smartphone-based surveys over a 2-month period. Measurement models developed from survey item responses were used in latent growth curve/mixture modeling to characterize homogeneous symptom trajectories. Associations between individual trajectories and pre-trauma and peritraumatic characteristics and traditional outcomes were compared, along with associations within and between trajectories. APNS across all ten symptom domains were common in the first two months after trauma. Many risk factors and associations with high symptom burden trajectories were shared across domains. Both across and within traditional diagnostic boundaries, APNS trajectory intercepts, and slopes were substantially correlated. Across all domains, symptom severity in the immediate aftermath of trauma (trajectory intercepts) had the greatest influence on the outcome. An interactive data visualization tool was developed to allow readers to explore relationships of interest between individual characteristics, symptom trajectories, and traditional outcomes ( http://itr.med.unc.edu/aurora/parcoord/ ). Individuals presenting to the ED after MVC commonly experience a broad constellation of adverse posttraumatic symptoms. Many risk factors for diverse APNS are shared. Individuals diagnosed with a single traditional outcome should be screened for others. The utility of multidimensional categorizations that characterize individuals across traditional diagnostic domains should be explored.

PMID
36609484
Citation Information
Beaudoin FL, An X, Basu A, Ji Y, Liu M, Kessler RC, Doughtery RF, Zeng D, Bollen KA, House SL, Stevens JS, Neylan TC, Clifford GD, Jovanovic T, Linnstaedt SD, Germine LT, Rauch SL, Haran JP, Storrow AB, Lewandowski C, Musey PI Jr, Hendry PL, Sheikh S, Jones CW, Punches BE, Kurz MC, Swor RA, Murty VP, McGrath ME, Hudak LA, Pascual JL, Datner EM, Chang AM, Pearson C, Peak DA, Merchant RC, Domeier RM, Rathlev NK, Neil BJO, Sergot P, Sanchez LD, Bruce SE, Baker JT, Joormann J, Miller MW, Pietrzak RH, Barch DM, Pizzagalli DA, Sheridan JF, Smoller JW, Harte SE, Elliott JM, Koenen KC, Ressler KJ, McLean SA. Use of serial smartphone-based assessments to characterize diverse neuropsychiatric symptom trajectories in a large trauma survivor cohort. Transl Psychiatry. 2023 Jan 7;13(1):4. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-02289-y.