Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among patients with mental disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused extensive public health concerns, posing significant challenges to healthcare services. One particular area of concern is the mental health of patients with mental disorder, who are often a neglected group. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of, and associated factors for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among patients with mental disorder in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Self-reported questionnaires were distributed to patients in four psychiatric hospitals in Beijing, China, between April 28th and May 30th, 2020. Information regarding sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 related factors, support, psychosomatic factors, and PTSD symptoms were collected using a series of scales, such as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, and so on. Multivariate regression was used to identify factors related to PTSD symptoms. Results A total of 1,055 patients with mental disorder were included in the final sample. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was 41.3%. Hierarchical linear regression demonstrated that fear of the pandemic and anxiety were shared associated factors for both symptoms of PTSD and their subscales. Additionally, age was an associated factor for the total PTSD (β = 0.12, p < 0.01), intrusion (β = 0.18, p < 0.001), and avoidance (β = 0.1, p < 0.05) symptoms; depression was an associated factor for the total PTSD (β = 0.13, p < 0.001), intrusion (β = 0.11, p < 0.01), and hyperarousal (β = 0.19, p < 0.001) symptoms. Conclusions The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was high among patients with mental disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. This study found that age, fear of the pandemic, anxiety and depression are significant associated factors of PTSD symptoms in patients with mental disorder during the pandemic. We call for higher awareness and introduction of PTSD interventions to relieve the psychological stress in these patients.

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, emotional impairments, and fear in COVID-19 surviving patients

“…It has been observed that old people present a lower level of acute stress during stressful events than young people (Reynolds et al, 2016). In the COVID-19 context, the patron is the same (Cai et al, 2020;Tang et al, 2022). On the other hand, anxiety and depressive symptoms are also most common in young people (Gambin et al, 2021;Solomou and Constantinidou, 2020).…”

“…On the other hand, anxiety and depressive symptoms are also most common in young people (Gambin et al, 2021;Solomou and Constantinidou, 2020). Age, along with other factors such as being female, and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms have been identified as risk factors for the development of PTSD, anxiety, depression, or other mental comorbidities , Nie et al, 2020, Ochnik et al, 2022Tang et al, 2022).…”

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's mental health find mitigation measures from the current popular social media platform

“…Still, the prevalence of these two kinds of posttraumatic stress disorder is similar in the world, both about 20%.In a study in China, Beijing learned about people's mental health by distributing questionnaires to patients in four psychiatric hospitals. The results showed 41.3% of patients have post-traumatic stress disorder [20].…”

Assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Patients Who Recovered from COVID-19

“…11,12 PTSD is a stressrelated psychological condition that occurs immediately following traumatic experience, such as severe accident, near-death experience, and sexual or physical violence. 13 This occurs when the memories, emotions, or thoughts experienced during the trauma or event reoccur, leading to restrictions and inconvenience in the individual's day-to-day life. 13 Overall, the prevalence of PTSD among individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 infection has been documented to range from 7.0-41.3%.…”