Stress and psychological impact on SARS patients during the outbreak.
OBJECTIVE
To examine stress and psychological impact in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients during the 2003 outbreak. SARS is a novel, highly infectious pneumonia, and its psychological impact is still unclear.


METHODS
At the peak of the outbreak, SARS patients (n = 79) and healthy control subjects (n = 145) completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and documented a range of psychological responses. Groups were balanced for age, sex, education, and living circumstances.


RESULTS
Stress was significantly higher in SARS patients than in healthy control subjects. Stress correlated significantly with negative psychological effects. Of SARS patients, 39% (n = 30) were infected health care workers; these individuals reported significantly more fatigue and worries about health than did other patients. Of patients, 25% (n = 20) requested psychological follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
General stress and negative psychological effects are increased in SARS patients, particularly among infected health care workers. This may increase the risk of mood and stress-related disorders. Functional impairment is apparent in the postrecovery phase.
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital, SAR, China. sechua@hkucc.hku.hk
Siew E
SE
Chua
Vinci
V
Cheung
Grainne M
GM
McAlonan
Charlton
C
Cheung
Josephine W S
JW
Wong
Erik P T
EP
Cheung
Marco T Y
MT
Chan
Teresa K W
TK
Wong
Khai M
KM
Choy
Chung M
CM
Chu
Peter W H
PW
Lee
Kenneth W T
KW
Tsang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires