Intensive care unit patients are not the only ones likely to be severely depressed in the aftermath of hospitalization. Family and friends who care for them often suffer emotional and social hardship, too, according to a prospective study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine that is the first to monitor patients and caregivers during a one-year period for predictors of depression and lifestyle disruption.
The findings, published this month in Chest, indicate that the informal caregivers of ICU survivors endure even more stress than those caring for Alzheimer's disease patients, noted senior author Michael R. Pinsky, M.D., professor and vice chair for academic affairs, Department of Critical Care Medicine.
"Caregiver depression is the collateral damage of these stressful ICU admissions," he noted. "This research reveals that loved ones of critically ill patients have profound and unmet needs for assistance even after hospital discharge. The emotional and economic burden is enormous, and these issues must be addressed."
Part of a larger project examining ICU outcomes, this study focused on the survivors of critical illness requiring breathing assistance with a ventilator for at least 48 hours as well as their informal caregivers, meaning family and friends. Caregivers were evaluated for depression symptoms two, six and 12 months after mechanical ventilation was initiated in the patient. At the two-month mark, more than 40 percent of the patients had died.