우울증 환자의 퇴원 후 외래 방문 관련 요인

Abstract

Background: Ensuring timely outpatient follow-up care after hospital discharge in patients with depression is critical for preventing suicide and relapse. This study aimed to identify patient factors associated with receiving outpatient follow-up care within 7 days of hospital discharge for patients with depression. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using the National Health Insurance Claims Database. This study included all patients with depression aged 18 years or older who were newly admitted to hospitals from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. A generalized estimating equation was used to explore the association between receiving outpatient follow-up care within 7 days of hospital discharge and various factors, such as age, sex, insurance type, comorbidity, and previous outpatient care. Results: Of the 15,018 patients included in the study, 60.2% were female, and 6,886 patients (45.9%) received outpatient follow-up care within 7 days after hospital discharge. Patients who were females and those with previous outpatient care experience were more likely to receive outpatient followup care (odds ratio [OR] 1.410, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.317-1.511; OR 2.502, 95% CI 2.269-2.759; respectively). In contrast, older and medicaid patients were less likely to receive outpatient care within 7 days after discharge. Conclusion: To prevent suicide and relapse, discharge planning interventions should be actively provided to vulnerable groups, such as older individuals, males, medicaid patients, and patients without previous outpatient care experience.