Severity and correlates of brain fog in people with traumatic brain injury.
Tyler Bell, Michael Crowe, Thomas Novack and 2 others
PMID 36504287WHAT IT FOUND
Teenagers and adults with symptomatic mild or moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury reported more brain fog than healthy controls.
In mild injury, brain fog was linked to mood and slower processing speed; in moderate-to-severe injury, to memory problems.
Key findings
01People with symptomatic mild TBI and moderate-to-severe TBI reported more brain fog than healthy controls, and the two TBI groups did not differ significantly.
02In symptomatic mild TBI, higher brain fog was associated with more depressive symptoms, and after adjusting for depressive symptoms it was associated with slower processing speed.
03In moderate-to-severe TBI, higher brain fog was not associated with depressive symptoms but was associated with worse learning and working memory scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study had only 15 people in each injury group and 16 controls, so results need replication. The moderate-to-severe TBI group was much older than the other groups, so comparisons with them need caution. The mild TBI group was selected for high post-concussion symptoms, so findings may not apply to people with asymptomatic mild TBI. The study measured brain fog and other symptoms at one time point, so it cannot show that brain fog causes cognitive problems or mood symptoms. Medical histories, including other mood or neurological conditions, were not available, so other causes of symptoms cannot be ruled out.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata lists NIH and other government research support. The article text does not provide a funding statement or author conflict-of-interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that brain fog is a validated diagnostic test for all head injuries, or that treating it will improve outcomes. This was a small one-time-point study of people selected for high symptoms after mild TBI and moderate-to-severe TBI, so it shows associations, not cause, and it may not apply to people with asymptomatic mild TBI.