Accession Number	<strong>00004630-200111000-00012</strong>.
Author	Wiechman, S. A. PhD; Ptacek, J. T. PhD; Patterson, D. R. PhD; Gibran, N. S. MD; Engrav, L. E. MD; Heimbach, D. M. MD
Institution	Seattle, Washington University of Washington School of Medicine-Harborview Medical Center, Seattle.
Title	Rates, Trends, and Severity of Depression after Burn Injuries.[Article]
Source	Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation. 22(6):417-424, November/December 2001.
Abstract	It is commonly assumed that patients hospitalized for burn treatment will experience some level of depression. However, little is known about the trends in severity of depression over time. The purpose of this study was to determine the rates and severity of depression over a 2-year period. The Beck Depression Inventory was administered at 1 month (N = 151), 1 year (N = 130), and 2 years (N = 125) after discharge. At 1 month, 54% of patients showed symptoms of moderate to severe depression, and at 2 years, 43% of the patients responding still reported moderate to severe depression. The average correlation between scores over time was high. Women had higher depression scores than men at each time period. An interaction between gender and having a head or neck injury was also observed at 1 month and 1 year after discharge. Results suggest that routine outpatient screening for depression is warranted. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.