Stigmatization related COVID-19 and PTSD among Chinese graduates.

BACKGROUND: Since COVID-19 broke out worldwide, it had caused extensive public health concerns and psychological distress, including PTSD and stigmatization towards recovered patients and people from high-risk areas. However, the association between PTSD, stigmatization and certain related factors have not been confirmed. METHODS: Through cluster random sampling, 946 Chinese graduates were investigated from 5 universities in Shanghai at three months after China lifted its coronavirus lockdown. PTSD symptoms were evaluated with PCL-5. Demographic and disease-related characteristics including stigmatization, educational attainment and working position were collected to assess their association with PTSD. RESULTS: 12.4% graduates were reported significant PTSD symptoms in PCL-5 screening with a cut-off of 33. Graduates with a Master's degree (P = 0.02) or working position like "looking for a job" and "planning to go abroad" (P = 0.038) showed severer stigmatization related to COVID-19. Stigmatization towards both patients recovering from COVID-19 and people from high-risk areas had significant association with PTSD symptoms. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that stigmatization can explain 5% of variation of PCL-5 scores after controlling gender, age, educational attainments and working position. CONCLUSION: Graduates who were looking for jobs or preparing to go abroad showed more stigmatization related to COVID-19. There was a positive correlation between stigma against COVID-19 and PTSD symptoms. More attention should be paid to the mental health status of graduates who are preparing to go abroad or looking for jobs.

Prevalence and risk factors for acute posttraumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 outbreak.

BACKGROUND: To examine the prevalence of and risk factors for acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) shortly after the massive outbreak of COVID-19 in China. METHODS: An online anonymous survey was conducted between 30 January and 3 February, 2020. The survey included two self-administered questionnaires: one collected personal information (gender, age, education background), current location, recent epidemic area contact history, the classification of population, and subjective sleep quality; the other was the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). RESULTS: A total of 2091 Chinese participated in the current study. The prevalence of PTSD among the Chinese public one month after the COVID-19 outbreak was 4.6%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender (p < 0.001), epidemic area contact history (p = 0.047), classification of population (p < 0.001), and subjective sleep quality (p < 0.001) could be regarded as predictors for PTSD. LIMITATIONS: First, the majority of participants in this study were the general public, with confirmed or suspected patients being a small part. Second, the measurement of PTSD in this study might be vulnerable to selection bias because of an online self-report study, such as participants' recruitment. Third, the prevalence of PTSD in this study was estimated by an online questionnaire rather than a clinical interview. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that some Chinese showed acute PTSD during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, comprehensive psychological intervention needs further implementation. Furthermore, females, people who had recent epidemic area contact history, those at high risk of infection or with poor sleep quality deserve special attention.