Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression among Syrian refugees residing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Abstract

BackgroundSince the Syrian civil war began in March 2011, more than half of the Syrian population was forced to escape from their homes, and more than 5 million of them fled their country. The aim of the present study is to estimate the psychological consequences of this conflict among the refugee population who fled to Iraq.MethodIn 2017, a team of locally trained psychologists and social workers interviewed 494 married couples (988 individuals) who were Syrian Kurdish refugees in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Validated Kurdish Kurmanji and Arabic versions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 and depression section of Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 were used for assessing PTSD and depression symptoms.ResultsAlmost all of the participants (98.5%) had experienced at least one traumatic event and 86.3% of them experienced three or more traumatic event types. The prevalence of probable PTSD was about 60%. Gender, length of time in the camp, area in which participants were grown up, and the number of traumatic event types were significant predictors for the presence of PTSD symptoms. Approximately the same rate of participants (59.4%) experienced probable depression, which was associated with gender, age, time spent in the camp, and the number of traumatic event types.ConclusionPTSD and depression are prevalent among refugees exposed to traumatic events, and various variables play important roles. The pattern of risk factors in this population is consistent with findings from war-affected populations in other regions and should be considered for intervention within this population and more broadly.

Association between stigma and depression among urban refugees in Mbarara Municipality, Southwestern Uganda

“…Vonnahme, Lankau, Ao, Shetty, & Cardozo (2016) in their study among Bhutanese Refugees in the United States, found inability to read and write a host country's language increased the odds of symptoms of depression four times compared to those who could read. Moreover, daily stressors such as living in unsafe places, lack of access to basic needs, absence of social support and living conditions in the host country contributed to higher levels of depression among Rohingya adult refugees who were semi or illiterate in Bangladesh (28). These results are in line with the Diathesis-Stress Model of Robert P.…”

“…Close et al, (2016) reported higher depression prevalence of 43% among Iraqi refugees, 41% of depression was also reported among Karenni refugees residing along the Burmese-Thai border (27). A study done among Syrian refugees living in Iraq reported 80% prevalence of depression (28). Studies conducted among refugees in Uganda and Southern Sudan identified high prevalence of depression at 67.4% and 49.9%…”

“…Results also revealed a significant positive association between stigma and depression. In addition to war-related violent events experienced in their country of origin, refugees are exposed to danger and potentially traumatic events during their flight (28). When they arrive at camps or host countries, many already suffer from psychological and physical impairment.…”

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

“…Another 24 participants refused to be enrolled despite their initial consent when initiating the survey. The study included 1951 responders with 527 (27.0%) being males, and 1538 (78.8%) participants being within the age range of (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) Table 2, there were signi cantly higher K10 scores in participants who changed places of living multiple times due to war, females, participants with low SES, low educational levels, younger age groups, and participants who were distressed from war noise. When regressing the previous variables from Table 2 on K10 scores by using forward linear regression, they were all signi cant (P<0.05) and R 2 was 1.6%, 1.0%, 1.1%, 0.6%, 0.2%, and 0.2%, respectively.…”

“…In primary care, around 25% of patients scored 20 or over (17,18). In Iraq, around 60% of Syrian refugees had probable depression (25). Another study found that 56% of the Syrian refugees at Alzatary Camp in Jordan suffered from mental distress, and 46% believed they needed mental support (26).…”