Purpose: To determine which basic and functional status characteristics of patients with a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are associated with discharge destination.
Method: Cross-sectional study among TBI patients. The study included 111 patients aged 16-67 years with a moderate-to-severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score 3-14).
Purpose: To examine whether the caregivers' coping style is associated with the functional outcome of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient 1 year post-injury.
Method: A cross-sectional study among patients with a TBI, including their primary caregivers. The study included 51 patients aged 17-64 years with a moderate-to-severe TBI and 51 caregivers (23 parents and 28 partners) aged 23-67 years.
Aim: To systematically review the evidence on the influence of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and (bio)medical variables on the course of prevalent disability and transition rates to different outcome categories in community-dwelling older people.
Method: Articles were identified through searches of PubMed, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases and reference lists of relevant articles. Prospective population studies that assessed disability at baseline and reported on associations between potential prognostic variables and disability were included.
Background: This study analyzed the incidence of disability and its risk factors in multiple dimensions in community-dwelling women and men of older age, between 1990 and 1999, in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Methods: For this community-based prospective longitudinal study, data were obtained from the Rotterdam Study that comprised a cohort of 7983 elderly who are 55 and over. The study sample for incident disability consisted of 4258 subjects who were disability free at baseline and had complete outcome data at follow-up, 6 years later.
Objective: To compile a minimum data set for the follow-up of traumatic brain injury patients from discharge from hospital to one year post injury to assess functioning and participation in the physical, cognitive and psychosocial domains, and in quality of life.
Design: Repeated questionnaire interviews by two observers to establish inter-observer reliability of the measurement instruments at discharge and at one year post injury, as well as their sensitivity to change over time in traumatic brain injury patients.
Setting: Department of neurosurgery of an academic hospital, department of a rehabilitation centre, and at the patients' homes in the Netherlands.
Disabil Rehabil
February 2006
Purpose: Describing the epidemiology of cerebral palsy (CP), its impairments and risk factors.
Method: Literature review 1965-2004. Search terms: Cerebral palsy, incidence, prevalence, impairments, risk factors.
Purpose: Cerebral Palsy (CP) contains varying clinical presentations, associated disorders and aetiological moments. Quantitative data and trends on these aspects were lacking in The Netherlands.
Method: Within a population-based study on prevalence, presentation and functioning of Dutch children with CP born in the years 1977-1988, individual history taking, examination and medical file checking was done by experienced clinicians.
Study Design: Development of Tetraplegia Hand Activity Questionnaire (THAQ).
Setting: Patients and spinal cord injury (SCI) professionals from five rehabilitation centres in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Objective: To construct a disease-specific questionnaire to evaluate interventions to the arm-hand of tetraplegics in terms of gained and lost activities relevant to the patient.
Purpose: The aim of the present manuscript is to review current methods for classifying initial severity and final outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to suggest a direction and form of further research.
Method: The literature on valid and reliable measurements used in TBI-research for classifying initial severity and final outcome was reviewed.
Results: Classifying initial severity in patients with head injury according to clinical condition or CT-parameters is valid.
Locomotor disability, as defined by difficulties in activities of daily living related to lower limb function, can be the consequence of diseases and impairments of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, nervous, sensory and musculoskeletal system. We estimated the associations between specific diseases and impairments and locomotor disability, and the proportion of disability attributable to each condition, controlling for age and comorbidity. The Rotterdam Study is a prospective follow-up study among people aged 55 years and over in the general population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the prevalence of self-assessed and physician-assessed disability and joint pain, their association, and the effect of cohort reduction and mode of assessment.
Design: Cross-sectional population survey.
Setting: General population, age 55 years and older.
Objective: To investigate the use of pain coping strategies by community-living older people with pain in the hip or knee and the mediating role of coping with pain in the relationship between the chronicity of pain and physical disability.
Methods: A group of 157 people with pain "in the last month" was identified. Coping with pain was assessed with the Pain Coping Inventory, physical disability with the Sickness Impact Profile, and household and sport activities with a validated structured interview method.
Objective: To assess the contribution of radiological osteoarthritis of the hips and knees to disabilities in the activities of daily living related to lower limb function.
Methods: During a home interview 1156 men and 1739 women, randomly chosen from the source population of all independently living residents aged 55 years and over living in a district of Rotterdam (the Rotterdam Study) were asked about locomotor disability by six questions of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and about pain in the hips and knees in the past month. Radiographs of hips and knees were scored according to the Kellgren grading system for osteoarthritis.
Objective: To determine differences in health status of people aged 55 to 74 years with pain in the hip or knee only and with additional mobility restricting conditions.
Methods: A subsample from a community based study on pain, disability, comorbidity, and radiological osteoarthritis (OA) was used to identify a group with current pain in the hip or knee only (n = 62), a group with additional mobility restricting conditions (n = 124), and a reference group without pain and radiological OA (n = 72). Health status was measured with the IRGL instrument (Impact of Rheumatic diseases on General health and Lifestyle).
Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are age-related disorders of the skeleton with genetic components. Low bone density is a risk factor for osteoporotic fracture while osteoarthritis is associated with increased bone density. The 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor (VDR) gene locus was previously found to be associated with bone density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo assess the influence of abnormalities found on physical examination of the hips and knees on disability 1156 men and 1739 women aged > or = 55 yr (the Rotterdam Study) were asked about locomotor disability (LD) using six questions of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). The prevalence of LD was 20.2% for men and 31.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine physical and psychosocial disability in subjects aged 55 to 74 years living in the community, in relation to pain in the hip and/or knee, and to explore the relationships between pain, physical and psychosocial disability, and selected background variables.
Methods: A subsample from a community based study on pain, disability, and radiological osteoarthritis (ROA) was used to identify groups with sporadic, episodic, and chronic pain and a reference group. Disability was assessed with the Sickness Impact Profile.
Objective: To investigate the relationship of osteoarthritis (OA) to bone mineral density (BMD) and rate of bone loss.
Methods: The study group consisted of 2,745 persons (1,624 women) from the general elderly population. Disability was assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire.
Objective: Determination of the prevalence of locomotor disability and its association with signs and symptoms of the hips and knees in a Dutch general population aged 55 years and over.
Design: Cross-sectional population-based study.
Setting: Rotterdam-Ommoord, the Netherlands.
Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd
September 1995
In the Rotterdam Study, prevalence and determinants of chronic diseases in the elderly (age > or = 55 years), were investigated in inhabitants of Ommoord, a suburb of Rotterdam. The study focused on cardiac diseases (myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, cardiovascular risk factors), glaucoma, macular degeneration, osteoporosis, osteoarthrosis and invalidity, dementia (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson's disease), epilepsy, cerebrovascular accident. The number of participants was 7983 (3105 men, 4878 women), a response of 78%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Rheum Dis
September 1995
Objective: To determine the association between joint complaints and locomotor disability.
Methods: During a home interview survey 1901 men and 3135 women aged 55 years and over (the Rotterdam Study) were asked about joint pain and morning stiffness in the past month, and locomotor disability was assessed by six questions from the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ).
Results: The prevalence of locomotor disability was 24.