The following is a summary of “Psychiatric Comorbidities and Outcomes in Palliative and End-of-Life Care: A Systematic Review,” published in the JULY 2023 issue of Pain Management by Sadowska, et al.

Psychiatric comorbidities are common among individuals at the end of life, but their impact on palliative and end-of-life care outcomes was poorly understood.

For a study, researchers conducted a systematic literature review following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to examine the relationship between psychiatric comorbidities and outcomes in palliative and end-of-life care. Six databases were searched, and the review is registered on PROSPERO.

The search yielded 7,472 unique records, and after the eligibility review, 43 studies were included in the review. Psychiatric comorbidity was associated with poor quality of life, increased physical symptom burden, and low functional status in individuals receiving palliative and end-of-life care. The impact of psychiatric comorbidity on health utilization varied across studies, but evidence suggested that psychiatric comorbidity increased the utilization of palliative care services. The quality of evidence could have been improved due to inconsistencies in confounding variable approaches and heterogeneity among the included studies.

Psychiatric comorbidity significantly impacts care utilization and clinical outcomes in patients at the end of life. Patients with psychiatric comorbidities and serious illnesses were at a higher risk of experiencing poor quality of life and high symptom burden. The increased utilization of palliative care services in patients with psychiatric comorbidity reflects the complex clinical needs of this population. Integrating mental health and palliative care services may enhance the quality of life for patients at the end of life. Further research was needed to understand better the relationship between psychiatric comorbidities and outcomes in palliative and end-of-life care and to develop effective interventions to address these needs.

Source: jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(23)00440-2/fulltext