J Psychiatr Res. 2025 Sep 15;191:39-46. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.09.020. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Family members of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are a population that is often overlooked. Studies have found that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression are the most common psychological disturbances in family members. However, the interrelationship between the three common psychological disturbances and the core performance is still unclear.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 579 family members of ICU patients in Hunan Province, China, from February 2023 to October 2023. The self-reported questionnaires used to evaluate were the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). SPSS 26.0 and R 4.3.2 software were used for statistical analyses and network analyses, and the EBICglasso model was employed to estimate the network.
RESULTS: Four hundred and eighty-seven cases were included in the final analysis after screening. The incidence of PTSD, anxiety, and depression was 27.72 %, 43.73 %, and 50.51 %, respectively. Network analysis indicated that negative alterations in cognition and mood (NACM), alterations in arousal and reactivity (AAR), trouble relaxing, and restlessness were core symptoms. The PTSD, anxiety, and depression networks were connected by AAR, irritability, feeling afraid, and restlessness. Moreover, in the depression network, the main manifestations are motor tension and fatigue in males and sad mood and guilt in females.
CONCLUSION: PTSD is the most prominent psychological disturbance among the three studied disorders. NACM and AAR may need close attention to reduce or prevent psychological disturbances in family members.
PMID:40972065 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.09.020
