Impulsiveness and burn patients

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.