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Abstract Background To exam the prevalence of and risk factors for acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Chinese people shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods An online questionnaire survey was conducted between 30 January and 3 February, 2020. The survey included two self-administered questionnaires: one was designed to require participants’ personal information (gender, age, education background), current location, recent epidemic area contact history, the classification of population, and subjective sleep quality; the other was the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Results A total of 2091 Chinese participated in this study. The prevalence of PTSD among the Chinese public one month after the COVID-19 outbreak was 4.6%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender ( p < 0.001), epidemic area contact history ( p = 0.047), classification of population ( p < 0.001), and subjective sleep quality ( p < 0.001) could be regarded as predictor factors for PTSD. Limitations First, the majority of participants in this study were the general public, and confirmed or suspected patients being a small part. Second, the measurement of PTSD might be vulnerable to selection bias because of an online self-report study, such as participants’ recruitment. Third, the prevalence of PTSD in this study was estimated by an online questionnaire rather than a clinical interview. Conclusions The results revealed that some Chinese showed acute PTSD during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, comprehensive psychological intervention needs further implementation. Furthermore, females, people who having recent epidemic area contact history, those at high risk of infection or with poor sleep quality deserve special attention.
Sun et al. (Tue,) studied this question.