Stress induced by the COVID-19 health situation in a cohort of 111 subjects present in the Bataclan concert hall during the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris

Abstract

Background:The management of the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is all the more difficult when subjects suffer from a prior psychiatric illness. BV13 is a 54month prospective longitudinal cohort study of 111 subjects who were present in the Bataclan concert hall during the November 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. Objectives: Our first objective was to investigate the association between stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and PTSD symptoms, notably with respect to two positive risk factors: trait mindfulness and social support. The second was to explore how PTSD severity mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and COVID-19-induced stress. Method: The primary endpoint was evaluated using the COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the PTSD Check List Scale (PCL-5) during the sanitary crisis and two years before. Social support was assessed with a Likert scale that measured perceived support from family, friends and the workplace. Trait mindfulness was measured with the 14-item Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Results: 54 months after the attack, a univariate analysis identified a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 stress (CPDI) and PCL-5 (r=0.77, p<0.01) scores, on the one hand, and significant negative correlations with FMI (r=-0.59, p<0.01), and social support (r=-0.28, p<0.01) scores, on the other hand. In the multivariate model, CPDI scores were closely associated with PCL-5 scores (p<0.01) after adjustment for FMI and social support scores. CPDI and FMI scores were significantly associated (p=0.05), but not CPDI and social support scores (p=0.89). The PTSD score was a strong mediator of the relationship between trait mindfulness (FMI) and COVID-19 stress (CPDI) scores. Conclusion: PTSD symptoms diminished the beneficial impact of trait mindfulness on stress related to COVID-19. Our finding highlights that subjects with previous experience of trauma need specific treatment for PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 crisis. Estrés inducido por la situación de salud del COVID-19 en una cohorte de 111 sujetos presentes en la sala de conciertos Bataclan durante los atentados terroristas de noviembre del 2015 en ParisAntecedentes: El manejo de las consecuencias psicológicas de la pandemia del COVID-19 es aún más difícil cuando los sujetos padecen de una enfermedad psiquiátrica previa. BV13 es un estudio de cohorte longitudinal prospectivo de 54 meses de 111 sujetos que estuvieron presentes en la sala de conciertos Bataclan durante el ataque terrorista de Noviembre del 2015 en Paris. Objetivos: Nuestro primer objetivo fue el de investigar la asociación entre estrés relacionado con la pandemia de COVID-19 y síntomas de TEPT, en particular con respecto a dos factores de riesgo positivos: rasgos de atención plena (Mindfulness) y apoyo social. El segundo fue de explorar cómo la severidad del TEPT mediaba la relación entre los rasgos de atención plena y el estrés inducido por COVID-19. Método: El criterio de evaluación principal ...

On the path to recovery: traumatic stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–2023

“…While the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers has been a focal point of investigation, other at-risk populations including students (Ali et al, 2021 ; Bountress et al, 2022 ; Essadek et al, 2022 ; Pat-Horenczyk et al, 2021 ), refugees (Akhtar et al, 2021 ; Liddell, Murphy, et al, 2021 ; Liddell, O'Donnell, et al, 2021 ), persons exposed to violence (Birkeland et al, 2021 ; Gibert et al, 2021 ) or past childhood adversity (Clemens et al, 2021 ), and military personnel (Richardson et al, 2022 ) have also been a nidus for research on mental health outcomes. A multitude of studies and reviews have highlighted the ubiquitous negative mental health effects of the pandemic (Nochaiwong et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ) and lockdowns (Chen et al, 2022 ), including PTSD (Bonati et al, 2022 ; (Laurent et al, 2022 ) Yuan, et al, 2021 ), adjustment disorders (Ajdukovic et al, 2021 ; Dragan et al, 2021 ; Liddell, O'Donnell, et al, 2021 ; Lotzin et al, 2021 ; Shiffman et al, 2023 ), substance use disorders (Patel et al, 2023 ), and even transient psychoses (Loehde & Novakovic, 2021 ).…”

“… 8. Gibert et al ( 2021 ). Stress induced by the COVID-19 health situation in a cohort of 111 subjects present in the Bataclan concert hall during the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris Among adults exposed 4.5 years previously to mass terrorist violence, COVID-19 stress was correlated with PTSD symptom severity and inversely correlated with self-reported mindfulness and social support.…”