Risks of mental disorders among intensive care unit survivors: A nationwide cohort study in Taiwan

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the risk of mental disorders among the intensive care unit (ICU) survivors compared with the hospitalized non-ICU and non-hospitalized patients. MethodWe extracted data from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to conduct a retrospective cohort study. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the data. Identified from the NHIRD, we matched 15,918 patients with ICU admissions, 63,672 patients without any inpatient admission (non-inpatient department [non-IPD] cohort), and 63,672 patients admitted to a general ward but not the ICU (non-ICU cohort). The patient records were extracted between the periods of 2000–2015 to identify any occurrence of mental disorders. ResultsDuring the study period, the overall risk of mental disorder diagnosis was 1.68-fold higher in the ICU cohort than the non-IPD cohort (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23–1.89, P < 0.001). Alternatively, there were no differences in risks for any mental disorders between the ICU and non-ICU cohorts. ConclusionBoth admissions to the ICU and the general ward cohorts were associated with a higher risk of any mental disorders compared to the general population. Further clinical studies are warranted to confirm this association due to residual or unmeasured risk factors.