Survivors of Childhood Burns Have Higher Risk of Depression and Suicidal Thoughts as Adults

Researchers have found that adults who have been hospitalized for burn injuries in their childhood face a higher risk of depression and suicidal thoughts.

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses that affects over 19 million Americans each year. This illness can be costly and debilitating to the victim. According to the World Health Organization, major depression carries the heaviest burden of disability among people with mental and behavioral disorders. 

In the latest study, researchers at the University of Adelaide did a 30-year follow-up on victims of childhood burns. The follow-up was conducted at the University's Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies. They evaluated the survey that was undertaken by 227 people who were hospitalized for burns during childhood from 1980-1990.

They noticed that nearly 42 percent of the people who took part in the survey had some form of mental illness and nearly 30 percent of them suffered from depression at different stages in their lives. They also noticed that long-term depression was a major issue among the group. Apart from this, 11 percent of them had attempted suicide.

The finding clearly reveals that, the victims being hospitalized for burns during childhood face an increased risk of depression and suicide attempts. They claim that the victims need further long-term follow up beyond the medical attention that the victims received for burns.

Out of the 272 people, scalds accounted for 58 percent of the burns. Scalds is a type of burn injury that causes damage to the skin due to the heat. Also, 17 percent of the burns were flame burns. The severity of the burns ranges from 1-80 percent on the victims' bodies.

The researchers observed that burn was not the only reason that affected the people, but other traumatic events they experienced. Nearly half of them had stated that there was no connection between their personal distress and burns.

"Our centre's work on the victims of Australia's Ash Wednesday bushfires has shown that many people affected by such a tragedy develop a heightened sensitivity to trauma. We suspect that this may be the same among the childhood burns victims, so that while the memory of the burn itself may have faded with time, they have become more susceptible to mental trauma or the negative effects of additional trauma," said the researcher.

The finding was documented in the journal Burns.