Traumatic Brain Injury & Long-Term Sick Leave Risk

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– These results show that there is a risk of impaired work ability at all levels of traumatic brain injury, says Elham Rostamiresearcher at Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet and the study’s principal researcher.

The study also showed that the patterns of sickness absence differed between the groups. Severe injuries were found to be associated with a faster increase in sickness absence, while people with milder injuries showed a more gradual increase over time. Factors such as older age, female gender and psychiatric disorders or substance-related disorders were in some groups linked to an increased risk.

The researchers conclude that personal rehabilitation can be important in reducing long-term sickness absence and supporting return to work.

The study was carried out in collaboration with Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutzprofessor and head of department for insurance medicine at Department of Clinical NeuroscienceKarolinska Institutet, and researchers in her department. See the study for funding and potential conflicts of interest.

publication

“Five-Year Follow-Up of Work Disability After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Nationwide Swedish Matched Cohort Study of 98,000 Individuals“, Klang A, Molero Y, Bergström J, Mittendorfer-Rutz E, Oldenburg C, Rostami E. Neurology, online February 11 2026, doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000214674.