Duke JM, et al. - Researchers evaluated the mental health (MH) of patients after a non-intentional burn compared with uninjured people in this retrospective population-based cohort study. They found that patients hospitalised for unintentional burns had significantly higher MH admission rates after discharge than that observed for an uninjured cohort. For burn patients, in-hospital and ongoing MH support were indicated.

Methods

• It was a retrospective population-based cohort study.
• Between 2000 and 2012, this research used de-identified linked hospital, death and mental health in-patient case registry data of all burn patients hospitalised for unintentional burns (n = 10,460) in Western Australia and an age and gender matched uninjured comparison cohort (n = 42,856).
• Cohorts had a median age at study index of 26 years with males involving 66% of each cohort.
• Before and after the injury, MH admissions for 5 years were examined.
• Negative binomial and Cox proportional hazards regressions were adjusted for socio-demographic and pre-existing health conditions and used to quantify relationship amongst burns and MH hospitalisations.

Results

• The study results showed that 4% had an MH admission, 2% were admitted for self-harm, and 3% were admitted for a behavioural disorder caused by drugs/alcohol in the burn cohort during the 5-year post-burn period.
• Findings revealed that significantly elevated adjusted admission rates for MH conditions were noted for the burn cohort compared with the uninjured cohort (IRR, 95% CI: 4.89, 3.52–6.79).
• Compared to the uninjured cohort, increased MH admission rates were found for all age groups but were most pronounced in those younger than 18 years of age at time of burn (IRR, 95% CI: 6.28, 3.00–13.14), followed by those aged 18–60 (5.14, 3.59–7.35) and those over 60 years (IRR, 95% CI: 2.97, 1.38–6.39).
• Data reported that gender-specific analyses exhibited significant differences for male (IRR, 95% CI: 4.48, 3.05–6.59) and female burn patients (IRR, 95% CI: 6.00, 3.62–9.92), compared to uninjured.
• According to the findings obtained, the burn cohort had higher adjusted first time admissions for MH conditions (HR, 95% CI: 3.55, 2.72–4.64), mood and anxiety disorders (HR, 95% CI: 3.77, 2.81–5.08), psychotic disorders (HR, 95% CI: 3.55, 1.99–6.15) and behavioural disorders related to alcohol/drugs (HR, 95% CI: 4.75, 3.09–7.28) for five years after the initial burn.