Study finds one in three former ICU patients shows symptoms of depression
The prevalence of depressive symptoms in this population, described in the September issue of the journal Critical Care Medicine , is three to four times that of the general population, says study coauthor O. Joseph Bienvenu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "Not only can people with depression have slower physical recovery, but they also experience financial strain because they often cannot return to work and their caregivers must stay home with them," Bienvenu says. Psychological symptoms occurring before an ICU stay and psychological distress experienced during the ICU stay or hospitalization were risk factors most associated with depressive symptoms after hospital discharge, the review found. "It's very clear that ICU survivors have physical, cognitive and psychological problems that greatly impair their reintegration into society, return to work and being able to tak...