Mental health outcomes of ICU and non-ICU healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Intensive care workers are known for their stressful work environment and for a high prevalence of mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mental health, well-being and changes in lifestyle among intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare workers (HCW) during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and to compare these results with those of HCW in other hospital units. Another objective was to understand which associated factors aggravate their mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey collected socio-demographic data, lifestyle changes and mental health evaluations as assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 items (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 items (PHQ-9), the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI) and the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) from the 28th May to 7th July 2020. The study was carried out at Geneva University Hospitals, a group of eight public hospitals in Switzerland. ICU HCW were analyzed for mental health outcomes and lifestyles changes and then compared to non-ICU HCW. A series of linear regression analyses were performed to assess factors associated with mental health scores. RESULTS: A total of 3461 HCW were included in the study, with 352 ICU HCW. Among ICU HCW, 145 (41%) showed low well-being, 162 (46%) symptoms of anxiety, 163 (46%) symptoms of depression and 76 (22%) had peritraumatic distress. The mean scores of GAD-7, PHQ-9 and WHO-5 were worse in ICU HCW than in non-ICU HCW (p < 0.01). Working in the ICU rather than in other departments resulted in a change of eating habits, sleeping patterns and alcohol consumption (p < 0.01). Being a woman, the fear of catching and transmitting COVID-19, anxiety of working with COVID-19 patients, work overload, eating and sleeping disorders as well as increased alcohol consumption were associated with worse mental health outcomes. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the suspicion of a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, peritraumatic distress and low well-being during the first COVID-19 wave among HCW, especially among ICU HCW. This allows for the identification of associated risk factors. Long-term psychological follow-up should be considered for HCW. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13613-021-00900-x.