Relationship between neuropsychological test performance and productivity at 1-year following traumatic brain injury

While there has been strong evidence for the ability of neuropsychological performance at resolution of posttraumatic amnesia to predict later productivity, there has been less conclusive evidence for the relationship of neuropsychological test scores to concurrent productivity status. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship of neuropsychological test performance at 1 year post-injury to productivity assessed at the same time point. Participants were 518 persons with medically documented TBI who were enrolled in the TBI Model Systems Research and Demonstration Project. Stepwise logistic regression was utilized to determine the contributions of neuropsychological test scores to productivity after accounting for demographic characteristics, injury severity, and pre-injury productivity. Missing neuropsychological test scores were accounted for in the model. Variables that remained in the model and accounted for a significant proportion of the variance included age, duration of impaired consciousness, pre-injury productivity, and scores on measures of GOAT, Logical Memory II, and Trail Making Test, part B. The results indicate that neuropsychological test performance provides important information regarding the ability of persons with injury to return to productive activities. The results also indicate that inability to complete neuropsychological tests at 1 year post-injury is associated with non-productive activity.