Elsevier

Burns

Volume 40, Issue 6, September 2014, Pages 1079-1088
Burns

Psychiatric outcomes amongst adult survivors of childhood burns

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2014.04.017Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Research on the adult psychiatric outcomes of childhood burns is limited.

Aims

To examine the rates of DSM-IV psychiatric disorder amongst adult survivors of paediatric burns, and to explore factors likely to contribute to variation in outcomes. In line with Meyer and colleagues [1], it was expected that high levels of psychopathology would be found.

Method

Participants were 272 adults hospitalised for burns during childhood between the years 1980 and 1990. Structured interviews and self-report questionnaires were used to assess psychiatric symptoms.

Results

Lifetime prevalence of any DSM-IV disorder was 42%, 30% for depressive disorders, and 28% for anxiety disorders. Eleven percent had made a suicide attempt. Female gender, single relationship status, higher level of disfigurement, longer hospital stays and higher number of burn-related surgeries were associated with adverse psychiatric outcomes.

Conclusions

High rates of suicidality and depression were concerning in adults with a history of childhood burns. Factors found to predict psychiatric outcomes could be used to direct interventions and further research is needed to establish how this could best be done.

Section snippets

Sample

The original burn-exposed cohort consisted of 1101 children who were admitted to South Australia's major children's trauma hospital, the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) for burns between the years of 1980 and 1990. Participants were recruited as adults, 21–31 years after their burn occurred. Of these 1101 children, 655 (59.5%) were not able to be contacted within the time frame of the study, 272 (24.7%) completing the interview component of the protocol, 214 (19.4%) completing the

Responders

Data obtained at the time of hospital admission was used to compare responders (N = 272) and non-responders (N = 829). Non-responders were more likely to be male (78.7%) than female (68.6%), (χ2(1, N = 1101) = 13.70, p < .001), however, the strength of this relationship was weak (ϕ2 = −0.11). The age at the time of the burn did not significantly impact on the response rate (t(1099) = −0.139, p = .889).

Demographics

At follow-up, participants were an average of 31.84 years (SD = 5.3 years, range = 23–48 years). There were 145

Discussion

This study examined the mental health outcomes of adults who had been hospitalised as children for burns. It is the largest study to date to follow-up childhood burn survivors into adulthood. It found that around a third of participants had experienced an affective disorder (either a depressive disorder, or bipolar disorder) at some stage in their life, which is substantially higher than published rates for the Australian national community (33.7% versus 15%) [25]. In particular, participants

Conflicts of interest statement

None of the authors have any financial or personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work.

Funding

This research was supported by a project grant from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC Project Grant ID 565380) and from a grant provided by Burns SA.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the following organisations and personnel for their assistance and support with the project: Dr Levina Clark, Chris Davies and Thao Tran from the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies, University of Adelaide, Natasha Forster from the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, Burns SA, the Burns Unit of the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Office of South Australia. A special thank you to all participants who

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