‘More than half’ of rheumatology patients reported post-traumatic stress during COVID-19
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
More than half of a cohort of patients with rheumatic or musculoskeletal diseases reported experiencing some post-traumatic stress outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data presented at the EULAR 2022 Congress.
“Our study highlights a high prevalence of PTSD and [post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS)] among patients suffering from RMDs during the pandemic period,” Giovanni Fulvio, MD, of the rheumatology unit in the department of clinical and experimental medicine at the University of Pisa, in Italy, told attendees.
Fulvio and colleagues, conducted a study to evaluate PTSD and PTSS in rheumatology patients between May 2021 and January 2022. Their analysis included 194 individuals with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases accrued at a single center in Italy.
Patients provided sociodemographic characteristics and psychopathological data using an online survey, while a physicians collected clinical data for the rheumatic conditions.
Mental health outcomes were assessed using the Trauma and Loss Spectrum-Self Report (TALS-SR) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IESR).
The mean age of patients in the cohort was 50.3 ± 12.17 years, and 73.19% were women.
The most commonly reported rheumatologic conditions were various types of connective tissue disease. Systemic lupus erythematosus was the most common specific diagnosis, followed by rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis.
“The mean disease duration was more than 10 years,” Fulvio added.
Just more than 10% presented with psychiatric comorbidity, according to Fulvio.
Results showed that PTSD was present in 22% of patients as assessed by IESR. In multivariable analysis using the IESR metric, no association was reported between PTSD and connective tissue diseases, arthritis or systemic vasculitis. However, an association for PTSD was observed for women but not men (P = .031).
In the TALS-SR assessment, 17% of the cohort reported PTSD and 40% reported partial PTSD.
“More than half of the patients experienced at least some symptoms related to post-traumatic stress,” Fulvio said.
Further analysis demonstrated associations with post-traumatic stress outcomes for connective tissue diseases (P = .001), inflammatory arthritis (P = .017) and systemic vasculitis (P = .041), as assessed by TALS-SR. However, in multivariable analysis, the association with PTSD or PTSS only persisted for connective tissue disease (P = .044).
“TALS-SR proved to be a more sensitive tool to identify patients with post-traumatic stress symptoms and related risk factors,” Fulvio said
Screening for post-traumatic stress is recommended for certain high-risk groups, including women with connective tissue disease and a previous psychiatric diagnosis, according to Fulvio.
Collapse
Fulvio G. Post-traumatic stress disorder and symptoms in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic: Preliminary results from the PERMAS study. Presented at: EULAR 2022 Congress; June 1-4, 2022 (virtual meeting).
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts