Quality of Life, Suicide Ideation, and Depressive Symptoms in Industrial Injury Patients

Kim, Soo In; Yun, Kyu Wol; Ha, Eun Hee; Woo, Haing Won; Kim, Young Chul

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
As the occupational and traffic accidents are increased, patients who are treated for complications of accidents have been increased in recent years. Accidents including industrial injury affect the physical state of the patients and make social, vocational, and economic prob-lems, so that they can affect the whole life of the patients. We performed this study to compare subjective evaluation of quality of life, depressive symptoms, and suicide ideation in both industrial injury patients and control subjects in order to know how industrial injury affect patients in psychiatric aspect. METHOD: The subjects were 169 inpatients who met the inclusion criteria of industrial injury patients and 166 healthy control subjects. All subjects were male and their age is from 19 to 60 years old. Demographic variables, quality of life, depressive symptom, suicide ideation were assessed in subjects. The types of injury and the duration of treatment were assessed in patients. The quality of life was measured using the Korean version of SmithKline Beecham 'Quality of Life' Scale(KvSBQOL), and the suicide ideation was measured using the Scale for Suicide Ideation(SSI), and the depressive symptom was measured using the Dpression scale of Patient Problem Questionaire(PPQ) which were devised from Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorder(PRIME-MD).
RESULTS
1) There were no significant differences in the general demographic variables between industrial injury patients and control subjects. 2) Scores of KvSBQOL were significantly lower, and SSI and Depression scale of PPQ were significantly higher in the industrial injury patients than control subjects(p<0.05). 3) In industrial injury patients, threre was a correlation between the age and the scores of KvSBQOL(p<0.01). The scores of KvSBQOL were lowest in older than 30's, highest in 10's-20's. No significant correlation was recognized between the age and the suicide ideation, the depressive symptoms. Threre was a correlation between the marital status and the scores of KvSBQOL(p<0.01). In unmarried, divorced or separated state, the scores of KvSBQOL were significantly lower than married state. There was a correlation between the duration of treatment and the scores of KvSBQOL, the suicide ideation. As the duration of treatment was longer, the scores of KvSBQOL were significantly lower(p<0.01), and the scores of SSI were significantly higher(p<0.01). 4) In industrial injury patients, there was a significant correlation between the type of injury and the scores of KvSBQOL, the suicide ideation, and the depressive symptoms. The scores of KvSBQOL were highest in the L-spine injury patients, lowest in the C-spine injury and multiple contusion patients(p<0.01). The scores of SSI were higher in the C-spine injury and multiple contusion patients, lowest in the L-spine injury patients(p<0.01). 5) In subjects, there was significant correlation between the scores of KvSBQOL, the scores of SSI, and the Depression scale of PPQ.
CONCLUSION
Industrial injury patients feel bad about the quality of life and have more depression and suicide ideation. As a results, psychiatric intervention is needed for prevention of depression and suicide due to industrial injury.