Psychiatric Morbidity of Survivors One Year after the Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Korea, 2015

Jiyoon Shin; Hye Yoon Park; Jeong Lan Kim; Jung Jae Lee; Haewoo Lee; So Hee Lee; Hyoung-Shik Shin

doi:10.4306/jknpa.2019.58.3.245

Journal List > J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc > v.58(3) > 1141096

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Shin, Park, Kim, Lee, Lee, Lee, and Shin: Psychiatric Morbidity of Survivors One Year after the Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Korea, 2015

Original Article

Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 2019; 58(3): 245-251.

Published online: 31 August 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2019.58.3.245

Psychiatric Morbidity of Survivors One Year after the Outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Korea, 2015

Jiyoon Shin, MD¹, Hye Yoon Park, MD, PhD¹, Jeong Lan Kim, MD, PhD², Jung Jae Lee, MD, PhD³, Haewoo Lee, MD⁴, So Hee Lee, MD, PhD⁵, Hyoung-Shik Shin, MD, PhD⁶

¹Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

²Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea.

³Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan, Korea.

⁴Department of Psychiatry, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

⁵Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

⁶Department of Infectious Disease, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Address for correspondence: So Hee Lee, MD, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, 245 Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 04564, Korea. Tel +82-2-2260-7311, Fax +82-2-2268-5028, psyhee@hanmail.net

Address for correspondence: Hye Yoon Park, MD, PhD. Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03080, Korea. Tel +82-2-2072-2457, Fax +82-2-747-7241, psychepark@gmail.com

Received 3 May 2019 Revised 4 July 2019 Accepted 5 August 2019

Korean Neuropsychiatric Association

Abstract

Objectives

Patients with an infectious diseases during an outbreak can experience extreme fear and traumatic events in addition to suffering from their medical illness. This study examined the long-term impact of the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Korea, 2015 on the mental health of the survivors.

Methods

Sixty-three survivors from MERS were recruited from a prospective cohort study at six hospitals one year after the outbreak in 2015. The Korean-Symptom Check List 95 was administered to evaluate their psychiatric problems and analyzed according to the patient's characteristics and exposure to traumatic events during the outbreak.

Results

A total of 63.5% of survivors suffered from significant psychiatric problems: post-traumatic symptoms (36.5%), sleep problems (36.5%), anxiety (34.9%), and depression (30.2%). Survivors with a history of a ventilator treatment during the MERS epidemic, a family member who died from MERS, and a past psychiatric history showed higher post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicidality than people who do not have those histories.

Conclusion

The study suggests that MERS survivors could have a high chance of adverse psychiatric consequences, even after their recovery from MERS. Exposure to traumatic events during the outbreak and premorbid individual vulnerability would affect the long-term mental health problems.

Keywords: Middle east respiratory syndrome, Emerging infectious diseases, Mental health, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Depression

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Psychiatric problems of survivors based on the score of the Korean-Symptom Check List 95 one year after Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea, 2015. PTSD : Post traumatic stress disorder.

Table 1

Demographics and clinical information in participants

Values are expressed as n (%), mean±SD, or mean (range). ^* : Three cases did not answer the question. ECMO : Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, MERS : Middle East respiratory syndrome

Table 2

Comparisons of demographics and clinical information in participants according to a survivor's characteristics and exposure of traumatic events

Values are expressed as n (%) or mean±SD. ^* : p<0.05, ^† : p<0.01. ECMO : Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, MERS : Middle East respiratory syndrome

Table 3

Comparisons of psychiatric problems MERS survivors according to a survivor's characteristics and exposure of traumatic events

Values are expressed as mean (SD). Analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. ^* : p<0.01, ^† : p<0.05. MERS : Middle East respiratory syndrome, PTSD : Post traumatic stress disorder

Notes

^{Conflicts of Interest} The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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Supplementary Materials

The online-only Data Supplement is available with this article at https://doi.org/10.4306/jknpa.2019.58.3.245.

Supplementary Table 1

Comparisons of demographics and clinical information in participants according to age and their occupational status when being infected

Supplementary Table 2

Comparisons of psychiatric problems in Middle East respiratory syndrome survivors according to age and their occupational status when being infected

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