Raimo Palmu1, Timo Partonen2, Kirsi Suominen3, Jyrki Vuola4. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Public Health Solutions, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: raimo.palmu@hus.fi. 2. Department of Public Health Solutions, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. 3. City of Helsinki, Social Services and Healthcare, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Helsinki, Finland. 4. Helsinki Burn Center, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Impulsiveness is a tendency to act quickly based on a whim without reflection or consideration of consequences. We studied its correlations with burn variables and mental disorders among burn patients. METHODS: Consecutive acute burn patients (N=107) admitted to the Helsinki Burn Center were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV mental disorders (SCID) at baseline and at 6 months. All patients filled out the 30-item Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), the most commonly administered self-report measure and a standard point of reference in research on impulsiveness. RESULTS: The mean total score of BIS-11 was 64.5 (range 41.0-87.8, SD±6.9). There was not a significant correlation between impulsiveness and a range of characteristics of burn injury (all p-values>0.05). We found a significant correlation between some pre-burn mental disorders and impulsiveness, alcohol dependence and attentional impulsiveness (OR=1.22, p=0.022), any personality disorder and non-planning impulsiveness (OR=1.21, p=0.005), and antisocial personality disorder and motor impulsiveness (OR=1.35, p=0.043). Patients with high impulsiveness (total score >65) more often than those with low impulsiveness (≤65), had pre-burn mental disorders such as major depressive disorder (22.6% vs. 8.6%, p=0.046), alcohol dependence (46.9% vs. 25.9%, p=0.023), or other substance dependence (12.2% vs. 1.7%, p=0.028). CONCLUSION: Impulsiveness had a significant correlation with mental disorders but not with burn-related variables. Therefore the role of impulsiveness in burn injuries should not be investigated independently without first accounting for the role of mental disorders.
OBJECTIVE:Impulsiveness is a tendency to act quickly based on a whim without reflection or consideration of consequences. We studied its correlations with burn variables and mental disorders among burn patients. METHODS: Consecutive acute burn patients (N=107) admitted to the Helsinki Burn Center were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV mental disorders (SCID) at baseline and at 6 months. All patients filled out the 30-item Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), the most commonly administered self-report measure and a standard point of reference in research on impulsiveness. RESULTS: The mean total score of BIS-11 was 64.5 (range 41.0-87.8, SD±6.9). There was not a significant correlation between impulsiveness and a range of characteristics of burn injury (all p-values>0.05). We found a significant correlation between some pre-burn mental disorders and impulsiveness, alcohol dependence and attentional impulsiveness (OR=1.22, p=0.022), any personality disorder and non-planning impulsiveness (OR=1.21, p=0.005), and antisocial personality disorder and motor impulsiveness (OR=1.35, p=0.043). Patients with high impulsiveness (total score >65) more often than those with low impulsiveness (≤65), had pre-burn mental disorders such as major depressive disorder (22.6% vs. 8.6%, p=0.046), alcohol dependence (46.9% vs. 25.9%, p=0.023), or other substance dependence (12.2% vs. 1.7%, p=0.028). CONCLUSION:Impulsiveness had a significant correlation with mental disorders but not with burn-related variables. Therefore the role of impulsiveness in burn injuries should not be investigated independently without first accounting for the role of mental disorders.