ICU sedation, delirium & recovery
Association between isolation room admission in intensive care units and long-term psychiatric disorders: a nationwide cohort study
Main finding · Any psychiatric disorderResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 1.03 95% CI 1.01–1.06Authors' conclusion
ICU admission to a single-bed isolation room showed a small yet consistent association with post-ICU psychiatric morbidity, mainly depression.
Study context
- Population
- Adult intensive care unit (ICU) survivors in South Korea (National Health Insurance Service database), ICU admission Jan 1 2020–Dec 31 2022, without psychiatric diagnoses in the preceding 12 months
- Participants
- 517,917 ICU survivors
- Exposure
- ICU isolation room vs no isolation room
- Outcome
- New diagnosis of depression, anxiety disorder, or PTSD
- Follow-up
- 1 year after ICU admission
Methodological detailsnationwide
- Nationwide
Main finding
Any psychiatric disorder · 1 year
Odds ratio
1.03
95% CI 1.01–1.06
P = 0.034
Isolation room vs No isolation room
OR 1.03 (95% CI 1.01–1.06); P = 0.034
As reported in the abstract
- Any psychiatric disorder within 1 year, all ICU survivors
- 136 172 (26.3%)
- Depression, all ICU survivors
- 15.6%
- Anxiety, all ICU survivors
- 16.8%
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), all ICU survivors
- 0.1%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Depression · 1 year
| OR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ICU isolation room | 1.06 (1.03–1.10) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Odds ratio (log scale) |
| Outcome | Estimate | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any psychiatric disorder, per additional day of isolation (continuous) · 1 year | OR per day 1.01 (95% CI 1.01–1.01) | P < 0.001 | |
| Depression, per additional day of isolation (continuous) · 1 year | OR 1.01 (95% CI 1.01–1.02) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Ratio (log scale) |
| Outcome | P value |
|---|---|
| Anxiety disorder · 1 yearNo significant association | P = 0.64 |
| PTSD · 1 yearNo significant association | P = 0.307 |
Original publication
Association between isolation room admission in intensive care units and long-term psychiatric disorders: a nationwide cohort study. Crit Care. Published 29 November 2025. doi:10.
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