COVID‐19‐related posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with lived experience of psychiatric disorder

Abstract

Background Prevalence estimates of COVID‐19‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have ranged from 1% to over 60% in the general population. Individuals with lived experience of a psychiatric disorder may be particularly vulnerable to COVID‐19‐related PTSD but this has received inadequate attention. Methods Participants were 1571 adults with lived experience of psychiatric disorder who took part in a longitudinal study of mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic. PTSD was assessed by the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) anchored to the participant's most troubling COVID‐19‐related experiencevent. Factors hypothesised to be associated with traumatic stress symptoms were investigated by linear regression. Results 40.10% of participants perceived some aspect of the pandemic as traumatic. 5.28% reported an ICD‐11 PTSD qualifying COVID‐19 related traumatic exposure and 0.83% met criteria for probable ICD‐11 COVID‐19‐related PTSD. Traumatic stress symptoms were associated with younger age, lower income, lower social support, and financial worries, and lived experience of PTSD/complex PTSD. Depression and anxiety measured in June 2020 predicted traumatic stress symptoms at follow‐up approximately 20 weeks later in November 2020. Conclusions We did not find evidence of widespread COVID‐19‐related PTSD among individuals with lived experience of a psychiatric disorder. There is a need for future research to derive valid prevalence estimates of COVID‐19‐related PTSD.

Causal associations between major depressive disorder and COVID-19

“…Only genetic liabilities to COVID-19 and MDD were considered, with no regard to the confounding effects of other factors, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and insomnia, which have been shown to be closely correlated with MDD and COVID-19. [48][49][50][51] Implications In summary, our study supports that MDD may augment the susceptibility to COVID-19, primarily through the priming of neuroinflammatory cascades. Our findings emphasise the need to increase social support and improve the networks of mental health interventions for people with mood disorders during the pandemic.…”

“…Therefore, our results may not be suitable for other populations. Only genetic liabilities to COVID-19 and MDD were considered, with no regard to the confounding effects of other factors, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia, which have been shown to be closely correlated with MDD and COVID-19 48–51…”

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and mental health treatment parameters among Asian Indians residing in the United States.

“…To contextualize the study's findings, we note that most study participants were women, had advanced secondary degrees, had full-time jobs with annual incomes greater than $80,000, reported India as their country of birth, and adhered to Hinduism as their religion. Further, in light of literature indicating how the pandemic contributed to the development and/or worsening of PTSD symptoms and to traumatic experiences (Lewis et al, 2022), we note that 27% of our participants provided responses during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Broadly, our findings extend recent literature calling for more empirical research on PTSD prevalence and treatment (Contractor et al, 2022) and sociocultural barriers for mental health services (Roberts et al, 2016) among the Asian Indian community.…”

Posttraumatic growth related to the COVID‐19 pandemic among individuals with lived experience of psychiatric disorder

“…In the total sample, 5.4% ( n = 77) of participants reported a traumatic experience that was judged to meet the ICD‐11 criteria for PTSD, and 0.84% of participants ( n = 13) met the criteria for probable COVID‐19–related PTSD. A more detailed account of the findings related to PTSD is reported elsewhere (C. Lewis, Lewis, Roberts, Evison, et al., 2022 ).…”