Long-term psychiatric disorders in families of severe COVID-19 patients

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to describe in detail the changes to and assess the risk factors for poor long-term outcomes of psychiatric disorders in families of COVID-19 patients.

Methods: A single-center, retrospective study using questionnaires. Family members of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with severe COVID-19 participated. Psychiatric disorders refer to the psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experienced by the patient's family.

Results: Forty-six family members completed the survey and were analyzed. Anxiety, depression, and PTSD occurred in 24%, 33%, and 2% of family members, respectively, and psychiatric disorders occurred in 39%. On multivariable analysis, living in the same house with the patient was independently associated with a lower risk of psychiatric disorders in families of COVID-19 patients (OR, 0.180; 95% CI, 0.036-0.908; p = 0.038). Furthermore, four family members overcame psychiatric disorders, and six family members newly developed psychiatric disorders during the one-year follow-up period.

Conclusion: Approximately 40% of family members had long-term psychiatric disorders, and some of them overcame the psychiatric disorders, and some newly developed psychiatric disorders over the one-year follow-up. Living in the same house with the patient was possibly significantly associated with the reduction of long-term symptoms of psychiatric disorders, but this result must be interpreted with care. Further large studies are needed to examine the factors associated with the long-term mental status of family members.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019; critical care; family; post‐intensive care syndrome; resilience.

FIGURE 1

Flow chart of family members' selection and exclusion. Forty‐six families completed the study and were enrolled in the analysis.

FIGURE 2

Overlapping of each component of psychiatric disorders. The overlap of the circles represents the co‐occurrence of the components.

FIGURE 3

Changes in mental status from the first survey to the current survey. Whereas four families overcame psychiatric disorders, six families newly developed psychiatric disorders.