Research Paper: Anxiety, Depression, and Their Related Factors in Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units

Background: Anxiety and depression are among the most common psychological symptoms in patientswith life-threatening illnesses, and have a close relationshipw ith hospitalization in specialized care units.Objectives: This study aimed at evaluating anxiety and depression and their related factors in patientsadmitted to Intensive Care Units (ICUs).Materials & Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 135 patients hospitalizedin ICUs (neuro ICU and general ICU) of Poursina Medical Education Center in Rasht City, Iran. Thepatients were selected by convenience sampling method. The study data were collected using a checklistsurveying demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the patients, and Hospital Anxiety andDepression Scale (HADS). Then, the obtained data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests in SPSS V. 18.Results: The Mean±SD anxiety and depression scores of the study patients were 6.12±9.3 and 7.10±2.3,respectively. There was a significant relationship between short-term hospitalization and anxiety (P=0.03),and a high score of depression was observed in those with middle-school education (P=0.03) and noninvasiveventilation (P=0.01). Moreover, administration of sedatives (P=0.001) and tracheostomyventilation (P=0.04), showed a significant correlation with depression.Conclusion: Anxiety and depression (symptoms of mood disorders) among ICU patients wererelatively high and the duration of hospitalization was significantly associated with anxiety. Moreover,the administration of sedative drugs had significant correlation with depression. In addition, the type ofreceived mechanical ventilation was associated with both disorders. Routine screening of anxiety anddepression by nurses in ICUs is useful for early treatment, and can prevent long-term complications ofthese disorders.

Keywords:

Anxiety , Depression , Intensive Care Units