Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adolescent Girls Infected with COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Pandemics are known to cause an increase in the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The current COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in the same along with other problems such as anxiety and depression. Aim: To find out the prevalence of PTSD and other mental health abnormalities among adolescent girls who have contracted COVID-19 infection and the factors associated with it. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out for 6 months at RL Jalappa Hospital and Research Center, Kolar. Adolescent girls infected with COVID-19 were included. A total of 100 girls took part in the study after matching inclusion and exclusion criteria. To assess for PTSD, the Mini International Neuropsychiatry Interview-KID (MINI-KID) and CPSS-5 Interviewer Version (CPSS 5-I) questionnaire were used. Data entered in Microsoft office excel were analyzed using SPSS v 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). To check for the association between factors, chi-square test was applied. Results: The majority of girls were aged 18 years, belonged to nuclear families, and had a hospital stay for 7 days to14 days. About 15% of the girls had PTSD diagnosed using two tools. Panic disorder and separation anxiety were commonly seen. Duration of COVID symptoms adolescent girls had before being diagnosed with COVID-19 by RT-PCR and duration of the hospital stay along with symptoms like throat pain, headache, and diarrhea were a few clinical factors that had a statistically significant association with PTSD. Mental health screening seems to be disregarded in COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 can be a traumatic stressor event among adolescents which can elicit PTSD-like responses and also exacerbate mental health problems. Conclusions: Early screening for PTSD or other mental health abnormalities among adolescents post COVID-19 infection should be considered.