Volume 4, Issue 2, 2022, Pages 263 - 273

Author(s) : Hadis Bahmaei ¹ , Poorandokht Afshari ² , Pravin Abedi ³ , Saeed Ghanbari ⁴ , Maryam Beheshti Nasab ⁵ , Hatam Boostani ⁶ , Saeedeh Askari* ⁷

Abstract :
Abstract Objective: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is usually caused by exposure to a traumatic event. The present study aimed to examine PTSD in patients recovering from COVID-19 infection. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 200 patients who recovered from COVID-19 infection in two hospitals of Ahvaz, Iran. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). To analyze the data, descriptive statistical methods were used. Results: 200 patients with a previous diagnosis of COVID-19 infection were enrolled in this study of whom 170 (85%) had PTSD. The total score of PTSD was 51.6±11.27. Compared to males, females were 9.4 times more likely to suffer from PTSD. The rate of PTSD among those who had children was 3.8 times higher than that of patients without a child. Also, patients who had suffered the loss of their relatives due to COVID-19 were 11.44 times more likely to develop PTSD. Conclusion: Results of this study may be of help to mental health professionals in identifying patients at a higher risk and in need of immediate intervention. This can help to prevent possible upsurges of PTSD during future outbreaks of infectious disease.

Keywords :
'COVID-19", "Post-traumatic Stress Disorder", "recovered patients"