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Abstract:
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Objectives of this study are to analyze a cohort of older persons recently discharged from a medical intensive care unit with regard to post-traumatic stress disorder, delirium, depression, cognitive impairment, and functional disability, and to describe and implement a graphical approach to multivariate data analysis that fosters formulation of clinically meaningful explanatory hypotheses. Graphical methods were used in univariate, bivariate, multivariate, and multiplicative analyses. Although the occurrence of PTSD following ICU discharge was rare in our cohort, it nearly always co-occurred with two or more other mental health conditions. We hypothesize that post-ICU PTSD is not primarily attributable to a single traumatic cause but results from the occurrence of acute illness requiring ICU treatment that contributes to multiple mental health decrements resulting in diagnosable PTSD.
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