title: Rates, trends, and severity of depression after burn injuries.
abstract: It is commonly assumed that patients hospitalized for burn treatment will experience some level of depression. However, little is known about the trends in severity of depression over time. The purpose of this study was to determine the rates and severity of depression over a 2-year period. The Beck Depression Inventory was administered at 1 month (N = 151), 1 year (N = 130), and 2 years (N = 125) after discharge. At 1 month, 54% of patients showed symptoms of moderate to severe depression, and at 2 years, 43% of the patients responding still reported moderate to severe depression. The average correlation between scores over time was high. Women had higher depression scores than men at each time period. An interaction between gender and having a head or neck injury was also observed at 1 month and 1 year after discharge. Results suggest that routine outpatient screening for depression is warranted.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington School of Medicine-Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wiechman
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ptacek
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Gibran
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Engrav
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Heimbach
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors