Objective. Quantifying the baseline characteristic of the trauma population is important to help guide improvements in care. Pre-existing mental health diagnosis have been shown to be a risk factor for developing PTSD after trauma. This review describes the prevalence of pre-existing mental health disorders in trauma patients to help establish baseline characteristics of the trauma population, and clarify if elements such as mental health prevalence are different from the general population.
Methods. This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines. 8,967 papers were identified through database searches. This was narrowed down to 43 for full text review following which 13 studies met criteria for inclusion.
Results. The cumulative total was 1,720,520 patients, with 724,546 having a mental health diagnosis, or a cumulative prevalence of 42.11% (3.8% - 85%). The wide variation between outcome is partly due to how the data was collected. Studies which interviewed patients during admission reported higher prevalence than studies which relied on electronic medical records.
Conclusion. This review underscores the importance of addressing pre-existing mental health diagnosis in trauma patients. Screening for such conditions upon admission could facilitate early interventions and improve patient outcome, particularly with regards to PTSD risk. There is a wide variation in prevalence of pre-existing Mental Health disorders in trauma patients which may be due to methodological heterogeneity. Underreporting of mental health disorders in electronic medical data bases may reduce the capacity to characterise prevalence in the trauma population. Moving forward, integrating mental health services into trauma care protocols is imperative for holistic patient management.