Posttraumatic stress disorder predicts poor health-related quality of life in cardiac patients in Palestine

Abstract

Background The longitudinal association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in cardiac patients’ remains poorly studied, particularly in conflict-affected settings. Materials and methods For this cohort study, we used baseline and one-year follow-up data collected from patients 30 to 80 years old consecutively admitted with a cardiac diagnosis to four major hospitals in Nablus, Palestine. All subjects were screened for PTSD and HRQL using the PTSD Checklist Specific and the HeartQoL questionnaire. We used a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to examine the independent predictive association of PTSD at baseline with HRQL at follow-up. We also examined the mediating roles of depression, anxiety, and stress at baseline. Results The prevalence of moderate-to-high PTSD symptoms among 1022 patients at baseline was 27∙0%. Patients with PTSD symptoms reported an approximate 20∙0% lower HRQL at follow-up. The PTSD and HRQL relationship was largely mediated by depressive and anxiety symptoms. It was not materially altered by adjustment for socio-demographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors. Discussion Our findings suggest that individuals with a combination of PTSD and depression, or anxiety are potentially faced with poor HRQL as a longer-term outcome of their cardiac disease. In Palestine, psychological disorders are often stigmatized; however, integration of mental health care with cardiac care may offer an entry door for addressing psychological problems in the population. Further studies need to assess the effective mental health interventions for improving quality of life in cardiac patients.

The Influence of Family-Oriented Enabling Psychological Nursing on Posttraumatic Stress and Fear of Recurrence in Patients with Cervical Cancer

“…Relevant data also show that loneliness, irritability, irritability, fear, depression, anxiety, pessimism, despair, and other adverse psychological problems affected the quality of life of cancer patients with the disease and could cause a vicious cycle between adverse psychology and pathophysiology [21]. In addition, after the occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder, patients may have flashbacks and recurrence of traumatic memories, avoidance, and hypervigilance, which affected their quality of life [22,23]. Enabling psychological nursing took the patient as the center, according to the real idea of the patients' heart, to take targeted psychological counseling, so that the patients have a healthy and positive psychology, so as to improve the quality of life [24,25].…”

Quality of life and mental health outcomes: the role of sociodemographic factors in the Palestinian context

“…These findings are consistent with what occurs in the Palestinian context, as Palestinins people face challenging living conditions due to the ongoing military occupation that is considered a risk factor for individuals' low quality of life and psychological well-being. Allabad et al 33 tested the role of stressful life events in predicting poor health-related quality of life among Palestinians; the results revealed that individuals with depression or anxiety potentially face poor health-related quality of life. Massad et al 34 examined the correlation between health-related quality of life, trauma, stress, and depression in another study.…”

Development of a context-specific trauma scale among a Palestinian adult population living amidst military violence

“…There has been a shortage of instruments specific to the Palestinian region for determining traumatic symptoms. For example, in a study that explored the longitudinal association of PTSD with health-related quality of life in cardiac patients particularly in conflict-affected settings, the researchers used the PTSD Checklist Specific (PCL-S) to assess PTSD (Allabadi et al, 2021). To examine the relationship between siege stressors, war trauma and PTSD among Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip, PCL (DSM-IV) (Arabic version) was used (Aqel and Thabet, 2018).…”