Children who survive childhood burns are at a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and depression as adults, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from University of Adelaide. Researchers examined 272 people who were hospitalized for burns during childhood from 1980-1990. Among these, 58 percent of the burns were scalds and 17 percent were flame burns. The severity of these burns ranged from 1 percent to 80 percent of their bodies.
The researchers noted that 42 percent of the participants suffered some form of mental illness and 30 percent suffered from depression as adults.
"Some of these results are concerning, particularly the rates of prolonged episodes of depression and suicide attempts, which are at a level higher than you would expect to find in the general population," said lead author, Dr. Miranda van Hooff, in a press statement. "This research demonstrates that being hospitalized for a burn during childhood places that child in an increased risk group. They require further, long-term follow up beyond the medical attention received for their burns."
The researchers also pointed out that although the burns themselves can be an important factor in these cases, many people surveyed did not directly link the burn with their current emotional wellbeing.
"We found that it's not often the burn itself that has affected people but some other lifetime traumatic event. Half of the participants stated clearly in the survey that their personal distress was not related to their burns," the researchers said. "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."
This research has been supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Burns SA. Findings were published online in the journal Burns.
