Depression Affects Many Caregivers of the Critically Ill

According to new research, caregivers of critically ill patients often suffer from depression that lasts long after their loved one’s hospital stay ends. Researchers collected information on 280 caregivers of patients who had been in the ICU for seven days or longer. They then evaluated the caregivers a week after the ICU discharge and then again three, six, and twelve months later. Initially, 67% of caregivers had scores that indicated either depressive symptoms or clinical depression. While some improved over time, the researchers observed that 43% of the caregivers in their study continued to report either depressive symptoms or full-blown depression up to one year later. New England Journal of Medicine, May 2016