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Cited by 1,018COVID-19 and Mental HealthPosttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchLong-Term Effects of COVID-19

Long-term psychiatric morbidities among SARS survivors

Open access
Mak, Ivan Wing Chit, Chu, Chung Ming, Pan, Pey Chyou, Yiu, Michael Gar Chung, Chan, Veronica Lee·2009·General Hospital Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2009.03.001PMC PMC7112501
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Abstract

Objective Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first massive infectious disease outbreak of the 21st century. However, it is unlikely that this outbreak will be the last. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term psychiatric morbidities in survivors of SARS.Method This is a cohort study designed to investigate psychiatric complications among SARS survivors treated in the United Christian Hospital 30 months after the SARS outbreak. Psychiatric morbidities were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Functional outcomes were assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.Results Ninety subjects were recruited, yielding a response rate of 96.8%. Post-SARS cumulative incidence of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders was 58.9%. Current prevalence for any psychiatric disorder at 30 months post-SARS was 33.3%. One-fourth of the patients had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and 15.6% had depressive disorders.Conclusion The outbreak of SARS can be regarded as a mental health catastrophe. PTSD was the most prevalent long-term psychiatric condition, followed by depressive disorders. Our results highlight the need to enhance preparedness and competence of health care professionals in detecting and managing the psychological sequelae of future comparable infectious disease outbreaks.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2009.03.001

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  • Disruption to daily routine and future plans is associated with lower mental wellbeing in previous health crises and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Disruption to daily routine and future plans were associated with lower mental wellbeing in previous health crises (Jeong et al., 2016; Mak et al., 2009; Mihashi et al., 2009) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (Williams et al., 2020).”

    From Behind the masks: A cross-sectional study on intolerance of uncertainty, perceived vulnerability to disease and psychological flexibility in relation to state anxiety and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic (2021) · cites this paper as Mak et al., 2009

    The Discussion (Range of psychiatric disorders and functional outcome; page unavailable) reports poorer quality of life among SARS survivors and suggests that functional impairment and unemployment may have complicated their psychiatric difficulties. It does not establish an association between disruption to daily routine or future plans and lower mental wellbeing. The COVID-19 portion of the sentence is attributed to a different citation, not Mak et al. (LLM, conf=0.75)

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  • Participants from Hubei province, the infectious focus directly exposed to public health emergency, may suffer more mental health problems.

    “It indicated that participants from Hubei province- the infectious focus directly expose to public health emergency, and may suffer more mental health problemes[17,19].”

    From Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak (2020) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Introduction describes SARS survivors as direct victims of an outbreak, and the Results (Subgroup analysis of HCWs; page unavailable) report more chronic PTSD among health care workers than other survivors. This supports the general possibility of greater mental-health burden with outbreak exposure, but the paper studies SARS survivors in Hong Kong, not participants from Hubei province or a comparison based on residence in an infectious focus. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • The current findings are consistent with previous studies that exposing public health emergency can cause public mental health problems, such as Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes, 2014 Ebola Outbreak, and SARS.

    “These findings are consistent with the previous studies’ that exposing public health emergency can cause public mental health problems, such as Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes[17], 2014 Ebola Outbreak[7,18], and SARS[19].”

    From Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak (2020) · cites this paper as [19]

  • Having experienced epidemics or natural disasters increases long-term levels of depression in populations.

    “Having experienced epidemics or natural disasters increases long-term levels of depression in populations (Mak et al., 2009; Lee et al., 2018; Morganstein and Ursano, 2020) and may also increase their future suicide rates (Cheung et al., 2008).”

    From Fear of COVID-19, Stress, and Anxiety in University Undergraduate Students: A Predictive Model for Depression (2020) · cites this paper as Mak et al., 2009

  • The SARS outbreak in 2003 resulted in a 'mental health catastrophe,' in which 59% of patients in a hospitalized cohort developed a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, most commonly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

    “For example, the SARS outbreak in 2003 resulted in a “mental health catastrophe,” in which 59% of patients in a hospitalized cohort developed a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, most commonly post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.”

    From Chatbots in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) · cites this paper as [14]

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Authors
Mak, I. W. C., Chu, C. M., Pan, P. C., Yiu, M. G. C., & Chan, V. L.
Affiliations
United Christian Hospital (CN)
Corresponding author
Mak, Ivan Wing Chit
ORCID
Venue
General Hospital Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-07
Volume
31
Issue
4
Pages
318-326
ISSN
0163-8343 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2009.03.001
PMC
PMC7112501
OpenAlex
W1989377012
Cited by
1,018
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 91 · 2022: 199 · 2021: 324 · 2020: 310 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
FWCI
2.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • General Hospital Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
Keywords
SARS, post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorders, psychiatric morbidity, long-term psychological effects, infectious disease outbreaks, healthcare workers
MeSH terms
Adult, Depressive Disorder, Disaster Planning, Female, Health Services Needs and Demand, Health Surveys, Hong Kong, Hospitals, General, Humans, Length of Stay, Male, Middle Aged, Morbidity, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Quality of Life, Retrospective Studies, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Cohort Studies, Incidence, Prevalence, Hospitals, Religious, Survivors, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

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