Most research into the outcomes of injury has focused on mortality rather than the physical, social, and psychological sequelae of non-fatal injuries. The health and long-term outcomes of a cohort of accidentally-injured patients were studied in order to assess the impact on quality of life.

The cohort of patients was derived from six previous studies spanning 1988–2003. Patients were followed-up with to ascertain if they were still alive, and survivors were sent a follow-up questionnaire in 2006. The questionnaire asked about current problems resulting from past injuries, use of health services, and measures of health related quality of life (the EQ-5D and SF-36 or Nottingham Health Profile (NHP)). A sample of 114 also received detailed face-to-face interviews.

A total of 2,418 patients were followed-up on between 4–15 years post-injury, of whom 311 had died. There were 580 completed follow-up questionnaires, and of these 64% reported health problems related to past injuries. The mean EQ-5D score at follow-up was 0.132 tariff points below the mean for a normal age-sex matched population, and SF-36 scores were 5–15 points worse than population norms. At all ages, EQ-5D and SF-36 scores were similar to those of the normal population aged 75. Interviewed patients also reported substantially more disability than the general population. Increasing injury severity was associated with almost all aspects of worse health at follow-up, and severe lower extremity injuries were strongly associated with poorer outcomes.

Injured patients continue to experience significant reductions in health and health-related quality of life for many years after their injury.