Prevalence and Risk Factors of Acute Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Wuhan, China

Background A novel coronavirus (SARA-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Within a few weeks, the disease caused by SARA-CoV-2, which is named COVID-19, has escalated into an unprecedented ongoing outbreak with frightening speed, becoming a global health emergency. This study aimed to exam the prevalence and risk factors of acute posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in Chinese people shortly after the massive outbreak of COVID-19. Method An online anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in mainland China between 30 January and 3 February, 2020. The survey consisted of two self-administered questionnaires: one was designed to require personal information (gender, age, education background), current location, recent exposure history of Wuhan, the classification of population, and subjective sleep quality; the other was the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), which was to assess PTSS referring to the outbreak. Results A total of 2091 Chinese participated in the current study. The prevalence of PTSS among the public in mainland China 1 month after the COVID-19 outbreak was 4.6%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender (p < 0.001), exposure history of Wuhan (p = 0.047), classification of population (p < 0.001), and subjective sleep quality (p < 0.001) could be regarded as predictor factors for PTSS. Conclusions The results showed that some Chinese showed acute PTSS during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, comprehensive psychological intervention needs further implementation. Furthermore, females, people who having recent exposure history of Wuhan, those at high risk of infection or with poor sleep quality deserve special attention.