Abstract
Objective: In this study, it was aimed to determine depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and related factors among relatives of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.
Methods: A total of 67 patient relatives, 31 (46.3%) male and 36 (53.7%) female were included in the study. Acute Physiologic and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores were calculated in order to determine patients’ disease severity. Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R) was used to assess the severity of posttraumatic stress and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to determine the level of anxiety and depression.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 65.7±16.1 years ranging from 18 to 90. The number of males among these were 31 (46.3%) and females were 36 (57.3%). The mean IES-R score for all of the patients’ relatives was 36.6±17. The mean score for females was 46±15.7 and the mean score for males was 36.3± 6.8. The difference between the genders was found statistically significant (p<0.05). The ratio of individuals with high risk was 64.2% (n=43) with 59.1% (n=26) for males and 73.9% (n=17). The difference between the genders was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean HADS depression score for all the patients’ relatives was 10.4±4.7; the mean score for females was 12.6±4.1 and the mean score for males was 9.2±4.7 (p<0.05). The rate of individuals with a high risk for depression was calculated as 50.7% (n=34) among all, 40.9% (n=18) for males and 69.6% (n=16) for females (p<0.05). The average HADS anxiety score was 10.5±4.7; 13±4.5 for females and 9.2±4.3 (p<0.05). The rate of individuals with a high risk for anxiety was calculated as 41.8% (n=28) among all, 29.3% (n=13) for males and 65.2% (n=15) for females (p<0.05).
Conclusion: High severity of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety levels was observed in individuals included in this study. It seems that evaluation of relatives of patients admitted to intensive care unit in terms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress is an important issue.

Key words: Depression, posttraumatic stress, anxiety, intensive care