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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1367661

Differential predictors of early-and delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder following physical injury: a two-year longitudinal study

Provisionally accepted
Sunggil Kang Sunggil Kang 1Jae-Min Kim Jae-Min Kim 1*Hee-Ju Kang Hee-Ju Kang 1Ju-Wan Kim Ju-Wan Kim 1Ilseon Shin Ilseon Shin 1Ju Yeon Lee Ju Yeon Lee 1Sung-Wan Kim Sung-Wan Kim 1Jung-Chul Kim Jung-Chul Kim 2Hyunseok Jang Hyunseok Jang 2
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Chonnam National University, Division of trauma, gwangju, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives This study aimed to investigate the predictors of both early- and delayed-onset PTSD over a 2-year period following physical injuries. Methods Patients were recruited from a trauma center at a university hospital in South Korea (June 2015 ~ January 2021). At baseline, 1142 patients underwent comprehensive assessments including socio-demographic, pre-trauma, trauma-related, and peri-trauma evaluations. Diagnoses of acute stress disorder (ASD) and subthreshold ASD were also determined using the Clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). Follow-up assessments at three months included diagnoses of PTSD and subthreshold PTSD using CAPS, and stressful life events (SLEs), with additional evaluations at 6, 12, and 24 months.. The analyzed sample comprised 1014 patients followed up at least once after the baseline and 3-month evaluations. PTSD diagnoses were categorized into early-onset (within the first six months after trauma) and delayed-onset (more than six months after trauma). Logistic regression models identified predictors for each group. Results Early-onset and delayed-onset PTSD were diagnosed in 79 and 35 patients, respectively. Early-onset PTSD was predicted by previous psychiatric disorders, previous traumatic events, ASD and subthreshold ASD diagnoses, and higher anxiety levels. In contrast, delayed-onset PTSD was linked to higher education, higher injury severity, and subthreshold PTSD and SLEs at 3-month follow-up. Conclusion Distinct predictors were found for early-onset and delayed-onset PTSD. The findings underscore the heterogeneous factors influencing the temporal development of PTSD post-trauma, and may provide valuable guidance for more targeted interventions and improved patient outcomes.

    Keywords: posttraumatic stress disorder, Delayed onset, prediction, Trauma injury, longitudinal study

    Received: 09 Jan 2024; Accepted: 28 Mar 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kang, Kim, Kang, Kim, Shin, Lee, Kim, Kim and Jang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jae-Min Kim, Department of Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, 61469, Republic of Korea

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