Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Among COVID-19 Survivors at 3-Month Follow-up After Hospital Discharge.
J Gen Intern Med
; 36(6): 1702-1707, 2021 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1156989
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe but treatable mental disorder that develops after a life-threatening traumatic event. Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) hospitalisation is a potentially traumatic experience, especially in severe cases. Furthermore, the unprecedented context of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic, with daily media bombardment about COVID-19 mortality, may have amplified life-threatening perception also in patients with moderate infection. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of PTSD at 3-month follow-up in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 infection.DESIGN:
In this cohort follow-up study conducted in a large Italian academic COVID-19 hospital, 115 recruited survivors were contacted by telephone 3 months after discharge to home care. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 was administered. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyse risk factors for the development of PTSD. KEYRESULTS:
A total of 10.4% of the sample received a PCL-5-based diagnosis of PTSD. Other 8.6% of the sample received a diagnosis of subthreshold PTSD, which leads to significant levels of distress and impairment. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that previous psychiatric diagnosis (odds ratio (OR) = 6.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.7-78.6, p < 0.001) and obesity (OR = 3.51, 95% CI 1.4-857.9, p = 0.03) were risk factors for developing PTSD. Chronic pulmonary diseases approached significance as a risk factor (OR = 6.03, 95% CI 1.0-37.1, p = 0.053). Male sex was a protective factor (OR=0.04, 95% CI 0.0-0.041, p = 0.007).CONCLUSIONS:
PTSD and subthreshold PTSD rates in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 are worrying. Female sex and pre-existing mental disorders are established risk factors for PTSD, while the prospective association with obesity needs further investigation. Clinicians treating COVID-19 should consider screening for PTSD at follow-up assessments in patients discharged from the hospital.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Etiology study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
English
Journal:
J Gen Intern Med
Journal subject:
Internal Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S11606-021-06731-7
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