@article{ref1,
title="Burn patients and mental health: a matched cohort study",
journal="Annals of surgery",
year="2024",
author="Kang-Auger, Gabrielle and Borsuk, Daniel E. and Low, Nancy and Ayoub, Aimina and Auger, Nathalie and Buteau, Stéphane",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between burns and hospitalization for mental health disorders up to three decades later.   BACKGROUND DATA: Burns are associated with pain, disability, and scarring, but the long-term impact on mental health is unclear. <br><br>METHODS: We analyzed a cohort of 23,726 burn patients aged ≥10 years who were matched to 223,626 controls from Quebec, Canada, between 1989 and 2022. The main exposure was admission for a burn. We followed patients during 3,642,206 person-years of follow-up to identify future hospitalizations for psychiatric disorders, substance use disorders, and suicide attempts. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between burns and subsequent mental health hospitalization using Cox proportional hazards regression. <br><br>RESULTS: Burn patients had 1.76 times greater risk of mental health hospitalization over time (95% CI 1.72-1.81), compared with controls. Associations were present regardless of burn site, but were greatest for burns covering ≥50% of the body (HR 3.29, 95% CI 2.61-4.15), third degree burns (HR 2.04, 95% CI 1.94-2.14), and burns requiring skin grafts (HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.90-2.10). Compared with controls, burn patients had more than two times the risk of hospitalization for eating disorders (HR 3.14, 95% CI 2.50-3.95), psychoactive substance use disorders (HR 2.27, 95% CI 2.17-2.39), and suicide attempts (HR 2.42, 95% CI 2.23-2.62). Risks were particularly elevated within 5 years of the burn, but persisted throughout follow-up. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Burns are associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for mental health disorders up to 30 years later.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-4932",
doi="10.1097/SLA.0000000000006270",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000006270"
}