Increased co-morbidity of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and common risk factors in intensive care unit survivors: A two-year follow-up study

Objective. To investigate the long-term psychological impact of intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, as well as to establish risk factors which successfully discriminate patients at higher risk. Methods. The Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Survey (SF-36), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression (CES-D), and the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) questionnaires were obtained from 48 ICU survivors who were also interviewed and self-reported on several acknowledged risk factors. Results. A high co-morbidity between depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases was observed. Both CES-D and DTS scores correlated negatively with the SF-36 mental health subscale scores; although a causative relation cannot be attributed to this finding, it indicates a potential negative impact of depression and PTSD symptoms on the patients' quality of life even at 18- to 24-month post-ICU. The most important risk factor associated with a long-term impact on quality of life, depression and PTSD was lifetime history of any psychiatric disorder. Conclusions. During ICU admissions efforts should be made towards identifying and psychologically supporting those patients with a previous history of a psychiatric disease, as they are at considerably higher risk of suffering from the long-term psychological sequelae of ICU admission.