The occurrence and risk factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among discharged COVID-19 patients in Tianjin, China.

BACKGROUND

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event. We aimed to investigate the occurrence and risk factors of PTSD among discharged COVID-19 patients.

METHODS

This study included 144 discharged COVID-19 patients. PTSD was assessed by using validated cut-offs of the impact of event scale-revised (IES-R, score ≥25). All patients completed a detailed questionnaire survey, and clinical parameters were routinely measured in the hospital. Binary logistic regression models were applied to identify factors associated with PTSD.

RESULTS

Of the 144 participants with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, the occurrence of PTSD was 16.0%. In multivariable analyses, age above 40 years (adjusted OR [95% CI], 5.19 [2.17-12.32]), female sex (adjusted OR [95% CI], 7.82 [3.18-18.21]), current smoker (adjusted OR [95% CI], 6.72 [3.23-15.26]), and ≥3 involved pulmonary lobes (adjusted OR [95% CI], 5.76 [1.19-15.71]) were significantly associated with a higher risk of PTSD. Conversely, history of hypertension and serum hemoglobin levels were significantly associated with a lower risk of PTSD with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 0.37 (0.12-0.87) and 0.91 (0.82-0.96), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Old age, gender (being female), current smoking, bacterial pneumonia, and ≥3 involved pulmonary lobes were associated with an increased occurrence of PTSD among discharged COVID-19 patients.