Predictors for psychological distress of young burn survivors across three years: A cohort study of a burn disaster in Taiwan

PURPOSE: The study aims to investigate long‐term psychological distress and its risk factors in the burn survivors. DESIGN: A longitudinal study with follow‐up interviews was conducted from November 2015–June 2018. A post‐burn baseline interview was conducted 6 months after the event, followed by annual surveys for three years. METHODS: The burn survivors received structured assessment through telephone in the four‐wave interviews, including the five‐item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS‐5); two‐item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐2); four‐item Startle, Physiological Arousal, Anger, and Numbness Scale (SPAN‐4); and six‐item Impact of Event Scale (IES‐6) alongside demographic data and other health‐related assessment. FINDINGS: A total of 180 respondents with the mean age of 23 years old completed the four waves of interview. Using the BSRS‐5 as the outcome, each variable had different input in psychological distress during the follow‐up years. The main finding was that the SPAN‐4 score could predict more than 62% of psychological distress between 6 months and 3 years after the disaster. The generalized estimating equation demonstrated that SPAN‐4, IES‐6, family functioning impairment, hypnotics use, adaptation to the event, and PHQ‐2 could predict psychological distress. However, the variable of follow‐up year did not exemplify significant estimation in the model. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that different factors had various influences on psychological distress across the four follow‐up stages. PTSD‐like symptoms, depression, and anxiety were the most common psychological problems experienced by the young burn cohort in the longitudinal post‐traumatic period. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Healthcare providers should be aware of psychological consequences of traumatic events within up to a 3‐year post‐burn period, particularly post‐traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms.