Screening for Mental Health Symptoms in the Emergency Department
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Date
2025-05
Authors
Langkiet, Jacob
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Background: Mental health disorders (MHD) profoundly influence health outcomes. Emergency departments (EDs) provide broad access to populations including at-risk and underserved groups not encountered elsewhere. There is limited evidence available to establish the prevalence of adults who exhibit symptoms of MHD, beyond suicidality, who are seeking care in the ED. We sought to determine the prevalence of current anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among ED patients.
Methods: This secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from prospectively enrolled, randomly selected, adult patients from three urban, academic EDs. Validated survey instruments included: (i) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety Short Form 8a, (ii) Emotional Distress Depression Short Form 8a, and (iii) the Primary Care PTSD Short Form. The primary outcome was the proportion of ED patients reporting elevated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. We secondarily report demographic characteristics and select social determinants of health.
Results: Of 3541 eligible patients, 1305 (36.9%) enrolled. Participants had a median age of 48 years. Most participants (70.2%, 95% CI: 67.7 - 72.6) exhibited symptoms of at least one MHD: anxiety 46.9%, depression 36.8%, and PTSD 51.3%. Notable socioeconomic factors included 45.5 % reporting income below $35,000 and 57.2% unemployed.
Conclusion: ED patients commonly experience elevated anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. These findings support the importance and feasibility of systematic MHD screening Screening for Mental Health Disorder Symptoms in the Emergency Department approaches for the ED setting that could enable further intervention.