More than half of frontline healthcare workers have been affected by subclinical symptoms of post-traumatic stress related to the pandemic, a regional study has found. These mental health issues are linked to health impairments and sleep problems, investigators say.
In the study, subclinical symptoms refer to psychiatric symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that are not severe enough to merit a formal diagnosis of the condition. The researchers collected data from emergency healthcare workers in and around Western Pennsylvania to capture what they experienced during the pandemic’s second wave and continue to experience today.
About 6% of the study population met the criteria for probable PTSD, while 55% experienced subclinical symptoms, they found. Those with subclinical PTSD had 88% more physical health symptoms, such as constant fatigue, weight change, low energy and headache, than the workers without any PTSD symptoms. They also experienced 36% more sleep problems, including daytime sleepiness and difficulty getting things done, Bryce Hruska, PhD, of Syracuse University in New York, and colleagues reported.
Under-the-radar PTSD
These under-the-radar PTSD symptoms are often overlooked but leave workers at risk of developing clinical symptoms when another trauma occurs, such as a new COVID surge, according to Hruska. Clinical PTSD can become debilitating, he said.
“This is a big oversight because these subthreshold symptom levels are common and often confer risk for other health problems,” he said. ”While the world tries to move on from the pandemic, our healthcare workers continue to face a significant mental health risk with every surge in cases,” he said.
Interventions that address these pandemic-related mental health issues must include subclinical PTSD to ensure their effectiveness, the authors concluded.
The study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
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