Health Related Quality of Life and Mental Health in ICU Survivors: Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Follow-Up and Correlations between the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28)

We investigated the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychological distress in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors 12 months after ICU discharge. The purpose of this study, conducted and completed before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, was to find correlations among psychiatric symptoms detected by a screening tool as the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) and the different domains of HRQOL measured with the SF-36 health survey (SF-36), in order to identify ICU survivors with Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) who need a specific psychiatric intervention to improve their HRQOL. Among 298 ICU survivors who stayed in the ICU for at least 72 hours, 48 patients were enrolled one year after discharge undergoing a clinical interview to assess their functional impairment (Barthel index), mental health (GHQ-28), and health-related quality of life (SF-36). 19% of those subjects had a GHQ-28 ≥ 5 and were identified as “psychiatric cases”, and they were older and experienced a greater impairment in HRQOL. Anxiety, insomnia, and depressive symptoms seemed to be particularly involved in the impairment of HRQOL. A negative correlation between GHQ-28 total scores and subscales and SF-36 subscales was found. Our findings highlighted that psychological distress in ICU survivors may negatively impact physical health recovery and quality of life;conversely, physical impairment and functional disability may trigger the onset of psychiatric symptoms after discharge. The present study is firstly to investigate the correlations between HRQOL and psychological distress in ICU survivors through the GHQ-28, and then affirms the need to carry out follow-up checks for psychiatric symptoms in ICU survivors.

Maternal Depression and Mother-to-Infant Bonding: The Association of Delivery Mode, General Health and Stress Markers

Aim: The aim of the present study was to examine associations among maternal stress level, general health, mother to infant bonding, maternal depression level, and mode of delivery. Methods: Mothers who delivered a single baby at term were recruited with a total 435 mothers participating in the study. Outcome measures: Data were collected 6 months after delivery using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Mother-to-Infant Bonding Scale (MIBS), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as well as socio-demographic and medical information at 6 months. Additionally, salivary cortisol and chromogranin levels were determined. Results: The proportion of breast-feeding mothers in the vaginal delivery group (51.4%) was significantly higher than that of the cesarean section group (24%). GHQ-28 scores were significantly related to EPDS scores and MIBS scores (P Conclusion: Maternal general health is associated with maternal psychological health. These results suggest that the support of maternal health is important to maintain maternal psychological status and bonding to infants. Because EPDS scores were significantly worse in the planned cesarean section group (4.2 ± 3.3), careful management is needed of mothers who deliver by planned cesarean section.