Mental Health Symptoms in Parents of Infants 3 Months After Discharge Following Neonatal Cardiac Surgery.
Amy J Lisanti, Ryan Quinn, Jesse L Chittams and 3 others
PMID 38161171WHAT IT FOUND
Three months after neonatal cardiac surgery, at least one in five parents had clinically significant depression, and at least one in five had clinically concerning post-traumatic stress symptoms, while one in four had elevated anxiety.
Parental role alteration was linked to all three symptom types.
Key findings
01At three months after discharge, 21.95% (n=9) of parents had depressive symptoms above the clinical cutoff, and 19.05% (n=8) had PTS symptoms indicating clinical concern.
02Mothers reported higher state-anxiety, trait-anxiety, depressive, and PTS symptoms than fathers, although rates of clinical concern for depression or PTS did not differ.
03Parental role alteration during the infant's hospital stay was associated with higher anxiety, depression, and PTS symptoms three months after discharge, regardless of parent sex.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a small pilot study, so the findings are exploratory and need confirmation in a larger sample. Participants came from one hospital and were mostly White, non-Hispanic, college-educated, and married, so results may not apply to more diverse families. Many enrolled parents did not complete the three-month follow-up, and those lost to follow-up appeared more distressed, which may mean the study underestimates symptoms. The study measured associations, not the effects of an intervention, so it cannot show that reducing parental role alteration will improve mental health. The models were exploratory, and the education-anxiety finding did not remain significant after accounting for missing data. There was no healthy control group, so it is not possible to say how much parent distress was due to the infant's condition versus normal early parenthood.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by non-U.S. government and NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read parental role alteration as a proven cause of later anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress. The study was a small pilot that measured associations, and parents who dropped out appeared more distressed, so the true symptom burden may be underestimated.