Patients' Mental Health and Length of Stay in Emergency Departments in Mexico

Introduction. International studies on emergency medical patients have identified an association between mental health problems and the number of patients' readmissions and their length of stay. Objective. We evaluated the relationship between patients' mental health (including anxiety and depression levels and suicide risk) and the number of readmissions and length of stay at the emergency department (ED) of a Mexico City hospital emergency department (ED). Method. This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2017 and 2020 at a general hospital in Mexico City. The sample comprised 236 patients in the ED. The study administered three instruments with psychometric properties to evaluate the sample. In addition, patient records were reviewed to identify the number of readmissions and length of stay in the emergency department. Results. The mean length of stay was 69.6 hours (standard deviation [SD] = 65.68) and the mean number of readmissions was .4 (SD = .88). In regard to mental health variables, it was found that 50% of the study population displayed anxiety symptoms, 54% showed depression symptoms and 8.30% of the patients presented a moderate/high risk of suicide according to the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). No statistically significant associations were found between study variables. Discussion and conclusion. There appears to be no relationship between mental health and length of stay. The percentages and implications of the data obtained are discussed.