Psychological consequences and the related factors among COVID-19 survivors in southeastern Iran

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a new viral disease that has spread rapidly worldwide since December 2019 and there is no effective treatment for it. The current study aimed to investigate the psychological consequences and related factors among COVID-19 survivors.

This descriptive analytical study was conducted on 152 patients with COVID-19 referred to referral hospitals in southeastern Iran in 2020. Data collection tools were three questionnaires of demographic and background information, Depression Anxiety stress Scale (DASS-21) and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IESR). Descriptive and inferential statistics and SPSS25 were used to analyze the data.

The mean age of patients was 39.52 ± 13.16 years. The patients were mostly female (63.8%). Seventy-three percent of the patients had severe posttraumatic stress disorder, 26.3% had moderate depression and 26.3% had severe anxiety. The mean scores of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety among patients with COVID-19 were 41.59 ± 17.28, 12.13 ± 9.16, and 12.45 ± 10.71, respectively. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission, divorce, illiteracy, and retirement were all associated with higher psychological load among patients.

The results showed that patients with COVID-19 had different levels of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress. These results may direct the attention of the medical staff to the mental health of COVID-19 patients, necessitating timely psychological care and intervention during an epidemic.