Mental disorder and PTSD in Syria during wartime: a nationwide crisis

Abstract

Background: Syria has experienced war since 2011, leaving over 80% under the poverty line and millions being displaced. War and its retaliations have significantly impacted the mental health of Syrians. This study evaluates the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the severity of the mental distress caused by war and other factors such as low social support. This study also evaluates other variables and compare the findings with multiple studies of Syria and refugees. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that included people who lived in Syria from different provinces. Online surveys on multiple online groups included Kessler 10 (K10) questionnaire, the Screen for Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms (SPTSS) tool, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and demographic and war-related questionnaires. Results: Our study included 1951 participants, of which, 527 (27.0%) were males and 1538 (78.8%) aged (19-25) years. Among participants, 44% had severe mental disorder, 27% had both severe mental disorder and full PTSD symptoms, 36.9% had full PTSD symptoms, and only 10.8% had neither positive PTSD symptoms nor mental disorder on the K10 scale. Around 23% had low overall support. Half of the responders were internally displaced, and 27.6% were forced to change place of living three times or more due to war. Around 86.6% of the responders believed that the crisis was the main reason for their mental distress. Those with high SPTSS and K10 scores were found to take more days off from work or school due to negative feelings and having somatic symptoms. Moreover, the number of times changing places of living due to war, educational level, and being distressed by war noise were the most important factors for more sever PTSD and mental distress. No differences in PTSD and mental disorder prevalence was noted between provinces or type of job. A strong correlation (r=0.623) was found between SPTSS and K10 scores. Conclusion: The conflict in Syria has left the population at a great risk for mental distress which was more severe compared to Syrian refugees elsewhere. Many measures with an emphasis on mental health are needed to aid the people against a long-term avoidable suffering.

Interactions of Consanguinity and Number of Siblings with Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

“…Genetic testings could not be obtained due to unavailability to these tests in many cases in Syria [ 27 ]. The issue for proper funding has affected many studies and rendered it difficult to conduct proper diagnostic tools and to carry on studies other than observational [ 26 , 34 ]. For easier and more reliable comparisons, only pre-B-ALL and pre-T-ALL were included.…”

Psychological health problems among Syrians during war and the COVID-19 pandemic: national survey

“…4 A recently published study showed alarming numbers, where 60% of the Syrian population are suffering from symptoms consistent with moderate to severe mental disorder. 5 We describe here the first study that aimed to provide an estimated prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Syrians during the civil war and COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to identify potential factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms.…”

Smoking Habits and the Influence of War on Cigarette and Shisha Smoking in Syria

“…Basic sociodemographic data that were solicited included gender (male; female), age (in years), marital status (single; in a relationship; engaged; married; divorced; widowed) educational level (primary school; high school; college or higher institute certi cate; masters or Ph.D.), the eld of education (medicine; pharmacy; dentistry; engineering; natural sciences; and social sciences including arts, literature, economy), the province of current residence (Damascus, Rif-Dimashq, and Aleppo; Homs and Hama; Al-Jazira region; Southern Syria; Syrian coast; and Idlib), employment status (employed; unemployed), type of work (laborer; trained worker or merchant; technician; postgraduate job ). Socioeconomic Status (SES) cannot reliably be assessed in Syria as asking for monthly income is not socially acceptable and due to the difference between the living expenses between Syria and other countries where SES questionnaires were validated (7). Nevertheless, SES in our study was assessed by using three items: education and profession of the providing family member, estimated monthly family income, and the profession of the respondent.…”

“…However, most studies either electronically or not had the same distribution (7-9) which is attributed to the war effect which made Damascus even more populous as it is relatively safer than other provinces, had more jobs to offer, and the main universities were there. There is no validated method to measure SES in Syria due to differences with other countries and it is not socially acceptable to ask about income (7). A randomized sample is required to determine the prevalence more accurately.…”

“…Syria has been in war for ten years which left millions seeking refugee status in other countries while millions who remained in the country require humanitarian assistance as more than 80% of the population are under the poverty line. Moreover, mental disorders increased dramatically due to war and di cult living conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), depression, and anxiety (7). The war and its related psychological pressure may have serious impacts and could be associated with risky behaviours such as an increased rate of smoking or substance abuse.…”