Medical and socio-occupational predictive factors of psychological distress 5 years after a road accident: a prospective study.

Purpose: Psychosocial consequences of road accidents are a major clinical problem that incurs significant social, occupational, and economic costs. The purpose of our study was to assess medical and socio-occupational factors of psychological distress in the severely injured 5 years after a road accident.

Methods: A total of 691 of the 1168 subjects enrolled in a prospective cohort of road accident casualties (ESPARR cohort) responded to both standardized follow-up questionnaires at 1 and 5 years, assessing socio-occupational characteristics, physical and psychological sequelae, pain and perceived quality of life.

Results: One quarter of participants exhibited psychological distress 5 years after the road accident; most of whom are women, with low educational level, and suffering from spinal lesions. After adjusting for several factors, psychological distress at 5 years was predicted by female gender and low educational level, and by several other factors observed 1 year after the road accident: poor self-reported quality of life, attention deficit and symptoms of anxiety.

Conclusions: Early-stage improvement in the screening and care of mental disorders in road accident casualties should help to reduce long-term psychological distress.