M. A. Williams

Summary Physical disability is a common component of post‐intensive care syndrome, but the importance of musculoskeletal health in this population is currently unknown. We aimed to determine the musculoskeletal health state of intensive care unit survivors and assess its relationship with health‐related quality of life; employment; and psychological and physical function. We conducted a multicentre prospective cohort study of adults admitted to intensive care for > 48 h without musculoskeletal trauma or neurological insult. Patients were followed up 6 months after admission where musculoskeletal health state was measured using the validated Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire score. Of the 254 participants, 150 (59%) had a musculoskeletal problem and only 60 (24%) had received physiotherapy after discharge. Functional Comorbidity Index, Clinical Frailty Scale, duration of intensive care unit stay and prone positioning were all independently associated with worse musculoskeletal health. Musculoskeletal health state moderately correlated with quality of life, r s = 0.499 (95%CI 0.392–0.589); anxiety, r s = ‐0.433 (95%CI ‐0.538 to ‐0.315); and depression, r s = ‐0.537 (95%CI ‐0.631 to ‐0.434) (all p < 0.001). Patients with a musculoskeletal problem were less physically active than those without a problem (median (IQR [range]) number of 30 min physical activity sessions per week 1 (0–3.25 [0–7]) vs. 4 (1–7 [0–7]), p < 0.001, respectively). This study found that musculoskeletal health problems were common after intensive care unit stay. However, we observed that < 25% of patients received physical rehabilitation after discharge home. Our work has identified potential high‐risk groups to target in future interventional studies.