• Emma Meyers, Ann Lin, Ethan Lester, Kelly Shaffer, Jonathan Rosand, and Ana-Maria Vranceanu.
• Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Henry and Allison McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
• Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020 Jan 1; 62: 87-92.

ObjectiveTo explore the impact of resiliency factors on the longitudinal trajectory of depressive symptoms in patients admitted to the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (Neuro-ICU) and their family caregivers.Materials And MethodsPatients (N = 102) and family caregivers (N = 103) completed self-report assessments of depressive symptoms (depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HADS-D) and resiliency factors (i.e., mindfulness and coping) during Neuro-ICU hospitalization. The HADS-D was administered again at 3 and 6 months after discharge. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to assess patient-caregiver interdependence.ResultsBaseline rates of clinically significant depressive symptoms were high among patients (23%) and caregivers (19%), and remained elevated through 6-months. Higher depressive symptoms predicted higher levels of symptoms at the subsequent timepoint (ps < 0.05). Higher baseline mindfulness and coping were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms at all timepoints (ps < 0.001). APIM analysis showed that one's own higher baseline mindfulness was associated with concurrent levels of depressive symptoms in a partner (p < 0.05).ConclusionsDepressive symptoms in Neuro-ICU patient-caregiver dyads are high through 6 months. Mindfulness is protective against depressive symptoms and interdependent between patients and caregivers. Early, dyadic, mindfulness-based interventions may prevent the development of chronic depression in both patients and caregivers.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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