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　　A new study shows that people with criticalillnesses are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatricillnesses than people who haven't experienced alife-threatening disease.

　　Studies show that people with diabetes and heart disease have greater than normal chances ofsuffering from depression, a mental illness that can interfere with daily life and anyenjoyment of it.

　　But what about illnesses so severe that those who have them end up in hospital intensive careunits?

　　Dr. Derek Angus of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center led a study that examined therelationship between critical illness and mental illness. Researchers reviewed the medicalrecords of all patients admitted to intensive care units in Denmark over a three-year period.

　　“Denmark is important because for many years now they have been collecting national data onessentially the health and wellness of every person living in Denmark," said Angus.

　　“We were interested in people who got a new or sudden critical illness such as pneumonia oran episode of sepsis," said Angus.

　　For example, patients on ventilators admitted the intensive care unit, or ICU, were compared tosimilar patients in other wards of the hospital and in the general population.

　　“Patients who came into the ICU were, in fact, more likely to already have pre-existingpsychiatric illness or to already be on psychiatric medications," said Angus.

　　But the researchers were curious about patients who had no previous mental illnesses andhad not been on psychiatric medications.

　　"There was an absolute new risk of new psychiatric diagnoses and new psycho-active medicationuse. Even though it was less than one percent, it was 20-fold higher than the likelihood ofgetting a new psychiatric illness had you been a general population member with similarunderlying characteristics," said Angus.

　　Dr. Angus says the risk is significant enough to tell patients and their families that depression,anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder is a known complication of surviving criticalillness.

　　The study found the risk was highest in the first three months after being discharged, anddeclined significantly as time went on. The study was published in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association.