Psychiatric disorders in patients after hospitalization for COVID-19: Frequency, coping behaviours and associated factors

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented major health crisis. Current data suggest that psychiatric sequelae may persist for a long time in survivors after infection. Objectives The objectives of our study were to determine the frequency of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder in patients after hospitalization for COVID-19 infection, and to investigate factors associated with their occurrence as well as to identify coping behaviors in these patients. Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Ibn Jazzar Kairouan Hospital between September and December 2021 among patients who consulted three months after their hospitalizations for COVID-19 infection. The assessment of the different psychiatric disorders was performed using the validated Arabic versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Coping behaviors were studied using the Brief-COPE scale. Results Our work included 104 patients. The median age was 55.5 years IQR:47-64. The gender ratio M/F was 1.12. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were found in 26.9% and 25% of cases, respectively. The frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder was 22.1% and that of sleep disorders was 41.3%. Problem-solving strategies were the most widely adopted, followed by emotion-focused strategies. Younger age, female gender, persistence of a physical symptom, impairment of daily activity, and stigma were factors independently associated with psychological distress. No association was found between the intensive care unit stay and psychiatric disorders. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping were negatively correlated with the different psychological outcomes studied. Conclusions Psychological distress in COVID-19 survivors persists beyond the acute phase and results from an intricacy of several factors. This highlights the importance of regular psychiatric follow-up after hospitalization in order to identify and treat, as early as possible, psychiatric disorders. Disclosure of Interest None Declared