Prevalence of Psychological Distress and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Associated Factors in Hospitalized Iranian COVID-19 Patients

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms/distress and posttraumatic stress (PTS) and associated factors among inpatients with COVID-19 before discharge from the hospital. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two teaching referral hospitals in Babol, Iran from July to November 2020. The subjects were inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were clinically stable. Before their discharge from the hospital, the patients completed three questionnaires: demographic data, Brief Symptom Inventory, and Primary Care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5. RESULTS: The subjects were 477 inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 including 40 (8.4%) admitted to intensive care units. Their average age was 60.5±17.9 years; 53.9% were female. Most had symptoms of significant psychological distress (96.0%) and PTS (8.1%) prior to discharge. A higher level of education (-0.18; standard error (SE) = 0.05; p < 0.001) was a negative predictor of psychiatric distress. The admission to intensive care units (0.86; SE = 0.08; p< 0.001) was a positive predictor of psychiatric distress. CONCLUSIONS: Most COVID-19 inpatients suffered significant psychiatric distress and PTS symptoms before discharge. Appropriate mental health crisis interventions are recommended for COVID-19 patients during hospitalization.