The psychological consequences of hospital admission for COVID-19, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are under-researched.

To describe the prevalence of, and risk factors for, psychological trauma symptoms in COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital.

We used data from the Post-Hospitalisation COVID-19 (PHOSP-COVID) study of adults discharged from UK hospitals after COVID-19. Psychological trauma was assessed using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) 5 and 12 months after discharge. We used log binomial regression to identify risk factors for probable PTSD.

We describe 1565 study participants discharged from hospital between February 2020 and March 2021 following an admission for COVID-19. Most were male (61.3%), White (77.4%) and from more deprived areas (62%). Of these, 15% had probable PTSD (PCL-5 ≥34) at 5 months which was associated with being 18 to 50 years old (risk ratio: 3.0 (2.1– 4.3), p < 0.001), lower income (e.g. <£19,001, risk ratio 2.1, 95% CI: 1.5 – 2.8, p < 0.001), longer admission and a history of depression or anxiety. Out of 236, 136 (57.6%) with probable PTSD at 5 months still had probable PTSD at 12 months. Persistence was associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admission (risk ratio 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6, p < 0.001) and higher anxiety and PCL-5 scores at 5 months.

Probable PTSD was common 5 months after admission for COVID-19 and was associated with lower socioeconomic status, longer admission and previous depression or anxiety. Over half remained symptomatic at 12 months, associated with ICU admission and higher 5-month PCL-5 scores.

Survivors of the 1988 Halabja chemical attack have experienced severe, chronic trauma, yet limited research has examined the long-term psychological and biological consequences of chemical warfare exposure more than three decades later.

To examine long-term post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression/anxiety symptoms, somatic symptoms and perceived stress among survivors of the Halabja chemical attack, and to investigate the associations of trauma exposure, sociodemographic factors and hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) with psychological symptom severity and symptom profiles.

A total of 209 survivors of the Halabja chemical attack participated in structured interviews using culturally adapted and field-tested instruments, including the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, the Patient Health Questionnaire-13, the Perceived Stress Scale-14 and an adapted War and Adversity Exposure Checklist-26. Hair cortisol and cortisone concentrations were assessed as biomarkers of chronic stress. Data were analysed using correlations, independent-samples t-tests, multiple linear regression analyses, multinomial logistic regression and latent profile analysis (LPA).

Survivors demonstrated a substantial long-term psychological symptom burden. Overall, 87.6% of participants exceeded the cut-off for probable PTSD symptoms, and 75.1% exceeded the cut-off for elevated depression/anxiety symptoms. Most participants (81.8%) reported exposure to 11 or more lifetime traumatic events. Men reported significantly greater cumulative trauma exposure, whereas women reported significantly greater somatic symptom severity. Higher educational attainment and employment were consistently associated with lower psychological symptom severity across multiple outcomes. HCCs were not significantly associated with PTSD symptoms or latent symptom-profile membership after adjustment for trauma exposure and psychosocial variables. The LPA identified four symptom-severity classes characterised by differing levels of PTSD and depression/anxiety symptoms. Greater cumulative trauma exposure and lower social support were associated with membership in more severe symptom classes.

Survivors of the Halabja chemical attack continue to experience substantial psychological distress more than three decades after exposure. Long-term symptom severity appears to be more strongly associated with cumulative trauma exposure and psychosocial adversity than with HCCs. The findings highlight substantial heterogeneity in symptom presentation and support the need for long-term, culturally sensitive and trauma-informed mental health interventions for survivors of chemical warfare and mass violence.

Over 1.6 million refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar reside in neighbouring countries. These populations face substantial mental health challenges, yet existing evidence remains fragmented, making a comprehensive review essential.

To synthesise evidence on common mental disorders among Myanmar refugees, examine associated factors and explore challenges across host countries and refugee subgroups.

A systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus and grey literature was conducted through July 2025. Eligible studies reported on common mental disorders among Myanmar refugees of any age in regional host countries. Two reviewers independently screened studies and extracted data dually, assessed risk of bias with Joanna Briggs Institute checklists and synthesised findings narratively.

Of 1614 records, 14 studies met inclusion criteria, covering >10 800 refugees in Bangladesh (n = 9), Thailand (n = 3) and Malaysia (n = 2). Reported prevalence was high for depression (30.0–89.0%), anxiety (39.3–41.8%) and post-traumatic stress disorder (3.7–61.2%). Risk factors associated with poorer mental health included potentially traumatic events, female gender, older age, family dependency, post-migration difficulties, lack of social support, food insecurity and pre-existing health conditions. Employment and income were identified as protective factors. Mental health challenges varied by country. Barriers to care included limited service access, lack of culturally appropriate interventions and stigma.

Myanmar refugees experience a high burden of mental disorders shaped by both potentially traumatic events and post-migration stressors. Effective interventions should be context-specific, focusing on person-centred care tailored to the refugee experience, improved living conditions, strengthened social support and enhanced economic opportunities.

Around 140 million births occur worldwide annually. For some women, childbirth is traumatic and can lead to childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD), with adverse consequences for both women and their families. However, international evidence remains limited.

To estimate the international prevalence of traumatic birth and CB-PTSD.

The International Survey of Childbirth-Related Trauma (INTERSECT) is a cross-sectional survey conducted in 31 countries. Women were eligible if they were 6–12 weeks postpartum, legally adults and provided informed consent. Recruitment was through routine maternity services and data were collected from April 2021 to January 2024. Outcomes were assessed using the City Birth Trauma Scale. Traumatic birth was coded using DSM-5 criteria for a traumatic stressor, and CB-PTSD classified when all PTSD criteria were met. Dissociative subtype and differential diagnoses were also assessed.

A total of 11 302 women from 31 countries took part. Most participants were married, aged 30–34 years, with average household income and higher education, and 9.7% identified as being from ethnic or racial minority groups. The prevalence of traumatic birth and CB-PTSD varied across countries: traumatic birth ranged from 7 to 69% (mean 23.3, 95% CI 22.4–24.0), and CB-PTSD ranged from 1 to 36% (mean 6.7, 95% CI 3.7–9.7). CB-PTSD subtypes also varied: the dissociative subtype ranged from 1 to 24% (mean 3.8, 95% CI 2.1–5.4) and acute CB-PTSD from 0 to 7% (mean 1.3, 95% CI 0.7–1.9). Removal of participants with potential differential diagnoses did not affect prevalence rates in most countries. Many participants reported distress and impairment from symptoms, even when they did not meet CB-PTSD diagnostic criteria.

Results show that a notable proportion of women experience traumatic birth and CB-PTSD. The wide variation in prevalence suggests that cultural and healthcare factors unique to each country are important. Results emphasise the importance of routine trauma-informed assessment and culturally informed support in perinatal mental healthcare.

Delirium is an inherently prevalent and particularly challenging aspect of pediatric heart disease that benefits from engagement of a vulnerable parent population. However, parental experience of witnessing their child’s episode(s) of delirium is seldom reported on in the cardiac population. Our aim was to identify and describe the specific impact of bearing witness to delirium symptoms as a parent or caregiver.

A cross-sectional online survey was distributed via parent social media groups and e-mail lists, displayed at conferences, and posted in clinical spaces from August 2023 through March 2024.

Fifty-one parents/caregivers provided meaningful responses. Most parents/caregivers were white (47, 92%), married (43/50, 86%), female (43, 84%), had a bachelor’s degree or greater (39, 77%), and nearly half (24, 47%) had a household income greater than $150,000. Half (26, 51%) of the children with delirum symptoms were less than 3 years old at first episode. Most (40, 78%) parents/caregivers described witnessing their child’s delirium symptoms as “very” or “extremely distressing” and 17 (33%) were “very” or “extremely fearful” of further episodes. Only 39% (19/51) of parents/caregivers received support despite 90% indicating they would have wanted more support. Of the 13 parents/caregivers who indicated their experience with delirium still impacts their daily life, seven screened positive by Impact of Event Scale 6 criteria for probable post-traumatic stress disorder.

This survey provides new evidence on the distressing nature of witnessing a child’s delirium episodes(s). Recognition of the impact on parents/caregivers and efforts to improve support and parental education should be undertaken.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a growing health problem whose neurobiology remains incompletely understood. Neuroimaging is useful in probing PTSD-related brain dysfunction, and techniques continue to evolve. Structural–functional coupling (SFC) offers a novel integrated perspective on PTSD neurobiology. We sought to define unique SFC alterations in PTSD and explore their associations with clinical symptoms, brain molecular architecture, and gene expression.

We studied 61 PTSD patients and 62 trauma-exposed non-PTSD controls (TENC) recruited from earthquake survivors. We compared SFC constructed from multimodal MRI data by an eigendecomposition method between the two groups. We explored the spatial correlation of SFC with molecular maps, used partial least squares (PLS) regression to associate them with Allen Human Brain Atlas gene data, and conducted enrichment analysis on the identified genes.

PTSD patients showed significant regional SFC alterations in multiple regions: lower SFC in PTSD versus TENC in the default mode network (DMN), frontoparietal network (FPN), dorsal attention network, sensorimotor network, visual network, and thalamus, and higher SFC in PTSD versus TENC in the DMN, FPN, and ventral attention network. Some changes were correlated with clinical symptom severity. In both groups, the spatial distribution of SFC was similarly correlated with molecular architectures. The second component of the PLS regression genes were linked to PTSD-specific SFC variations, enriched mainly in molecular functions and pathways related to synapses and neurotransmitter signaling.

This study yields new insights into PTSD pathophysiology by connecting macroscale SFC changes with their microscale molecular and transcriptional basis.

To report prevalence, severity and clinical and inflammatory correlates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in patients with schizophrenia.

This cross-sectional, observational study included adult outpatients with schizophrenia/schizophreniform disorder. Assessments included the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Severity Scale-Revised, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), and inflammatory markers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, systemic immune-inflammation index: platelets × neutrophils)/lymphocytes). Analyses compared patients with (SCZ + PTSD) versus without PTSD (SCZ-PTSD) across demographic, clinical, and biological variables.

SCZ + PTSD had higher PANSS-total scores (80.7 ± 19.5 vs. 71.6 ± 17.1; p = 0.003), more comorbid depression (73.8% vs. 23.3%; p < .001), higher CDSS scores (9.5 ± 4.9 vs. 3.2 ± 4.1; p < .001), more frequent suicide attempts (40.5% vs. 23.0%; p = 0.05), lower GAF scores (39.8 ± 12.3 vs. 49.6 ± 12.3; p < .001) and more medical comorbidities (51.1% vs. 42.8%; p = .014). Inflammatory markers did not differ significantly between groups. Logistic regression analyses identified higher CDSS scores (OR = 1.25, 95% CI [1.15, 1.36], p < .001) and lower GAF scores (OR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.93, 0.99], p = .007) as significant correlates of PTSD (r2 = 0.22).

PTSD is common and clinically relevant in people with schizophrenia, underscoring the need for routine screening and targeted interventions in this population.

Systemic inflammation is hypothesized to contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) vulnerability. Few studies have examined inflammation shortly after trauma as a predictor of later PTSD symptoms. We examined whether inflammation from the emergency department (ED) post-trauma is associated with PTSD symptom severity over the following 6 months.

Our sample included 742 AURORA participants, a longitudinal cohort of patients in 29 EDs across the United States after a traumatic stressor, followed up to 6 months. Plasma cytokines were assessed from a study blood draw in the ED: an inflammatory index (standardized sum of generally pro-inflammatory markers interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interferon gamma [IFN-γ]), and generally anti-inflammatory IL-10. PTSD symptoms were self-reported at 2 weeks, 8 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-ED. Covariate-adjusted repeated-measures regressions estimated associations between inflammation and PTSD symptoms, overall and sex-stratified.

Among 742 participants (age m = 40.0 [13.7]; 479 [64.6%] female), PTSD symptoms were elevated then modestly decreased over follow-up. Higher ED inflammation was associated with higher PTSD symptoms across follow-up (standardized symptoms β = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01–0.09), adjusted for potential confounders. Higher pro-inflammatory index levels and IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were associated with higher PTSD symptoms in males only, while higher IL-10 was associated with higher PTSD symptoms in females only.

Pro-inflammatory levels shortly after traumatic stress are associated with heightened PTSD symptoms, particularly among males. Inflammatory markers may prove useful additions to prediction models for PTSD following trauma, with attention to sex differences.

Although there are several evidence-based treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), up to half of patients do not experience significant symptom relief. Executive functioning (EF) impairment is believed to impede PTSD recovery and diminish treatment response, but is not directly targeted by traditional treatments. Cognitive training for EF has emerged as a promising treatment alternative for PTSD, but may only benefit certain patients. The present study aimed to identify, validate, and characterize the subgroup of patients with PTSD who respond to an EF training program.

Veterans with PTSD (N = 79) completed neuropsychological tests and a working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, followed by 16 sessions of an EF training program (working memory training [WMT]). Growth mixture modeling identified subgroups based on session-by-session working memory changes. Mixed-effects models then evaluated differences in spatial working memory and PTSD symptom improvement among these subgroups. Finally, the subgroups were compared on baseline neuropsychological performance and neural activity.

Three subgroups were extracted, with one subgroup (labeled low-WM/steep improvement subgroup) exhibiting steeper working memory improvement across training and greater spatial working memory and PTSD symptom improvement following training. The low-WM/steep improvement subgroup was uniquely characterized by a combination of lower EF task performance and lower working memory-related neural activity at baseline.

WMT may be a promising alternative PTSD treatment for Veterans with EF impairments. Patients likely to benefit from WMT could be identified using a combination of neuropsychological and neuroimaging assessments, but further research is needed to confirm these indicators.

Trauma, a psychological phenomenon, can contribute to several mental health disorders such as acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding the impacts of childhood adversities on mental disorders is essential, since early trauma can profoundly shape an individual’s reaction to subsequent trauma.

To study the association between childhood adversities and full-threshold and subthreshold PTSD onset, either directly or through the intermediary role of ASD.

Data were collected longitudinally from healthcare workers aged 18 years and above, working at Saint George Hospital University Medical Center, at three distinct time points: 9–15 days (wave 1), 21–27 days (wave 2) and 6–7 months (wave 3) following the Beirut port blast on 4 August 2020.

Childhood adversities, encompassing physical, emotional and sexual abuse, were collected. ASD and PTSD were assessed, respectively, using the Acute Stress Disorder Scale and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5. Odds ratios, both unadjusted and adjusted, with 95% confidence intervals, were calculated to study the associations.

Emotional abuse was found to be a significant predictor of ASD at wave 2 (21–27 days), and both full-threshold and subthreshold PTSD at wave 3 (6–7 months) post-blast. Individuals with negative ASD status at waves 1 and 2 who experienced emotional abuse in childhood showed approximately double the rates of subthreshold PTSD.

Childhood emotional abuse was a strong predictor of both ASD and PTSD. Screening for past childhood adversities is important, even in individuals without ASD, as they remain more vulnerable to later PTSD.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) manifests with distinct trauma-avoidant and trauma-related identity states. Overtly conscious trauma-related knowledge processing is identity state-dependent. Previous research on covertly subconscious knowledge processing in DID lacks subject-specific trauma-related stimuli.

Our controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study explored neural and behavioural differences of overt and covert knowledge processing of individualised self-relevant words in DID.

Behavioural data were gathered while 56 participants underwent task-based fMRI: 14 with DID, 14 DID simulators and a paired control group of 14 healthy controls and 14 participants with post-traumatic stress disorder. Individuals with DID and simulators participated in a trauma-avoidant and a trauma-related identity state. Reaction times and brain activation following overtly and covertly presented individualised words were statistically analysed.

Behavioural analyses showed a main effect of consciousness (P < 0.001). Post hoc between-group pairwise comparisons revealed slower reaction times for individuals with DID compared with simulating (P < 0.05) and paired controls (P < 0.05). Neural data analyses showed increased brain activation in frontal and parietal regions within the diagnosed DID group, especially during overt processing. Between-group comparisons mostly showed less pronounced activation in frontal, occipital and temporal areas.

The present study showed increased cognitive control during overt self-relevant knowledge processing in the trauma-avoidant identity state of DID, in line with previous research. The slower reaction times and increased frontoparietal activation shown in individuals with diagnosed DID, as compared with both control groups, support the notion of cognitive avoidance of trauma-related information in DID and further reinforce the authenticity of DID experiences.

While increasing research is reporting a higher presence of autistic traits (AT) in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and BPD have been associated in literature with a vulnerability to trauma and eating disorders.

The present study aimed at evaluating trauma-related symptoms and eating disorder symptoms in BPD patients with or without significant AT.

A sample of 73 BPD patients was assessed with the adult autism subthreshold (AdAS) Spectrum, trauma and loss spectrum-self report (TALS-SR), and EDI-2 questionnaires.

The findings revealed that BPD patients with autistic traits (BPD-AT) scored significantly higher on the eating disorder inventory (EDI-2) and trauma and loss scale (TALS-SR) compared to those without AT. Moreover, while both AdAS Spectrum and TALS-SR scores predicted higher EDI-2 scores, a significant mediating effect of TALS-SR on the relationship between AdAS Spectrum and EDI-2 scores was reported.

These results suggest that AT may imply more severe clinical correlates in the BPD population, including an enhanced vulnerability toward psychopathological traits frequently reported in BPD patients such as eating disorders and trauma-related symptoms, stressing the need to clarify the complex interactions among these disorders and the factors that may shape specific illness trajectories.