Related factors to onset of post-traumatic stress disorder after road accidents

  Introduction: Traffic accidents are one of the most common causes of mental disorders associated to trauma, According to the prevalence, importance and complications of post traumatic stress disorder after the accident, examining the related factors can be a useful aid in screening and treatment of people at risk.   Objective: This study aimed to determine some variables related to post traumatic stress disorder after traffic accident.   Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study, participants were chosen from orthopaedic and traumatic units of Poursina hospital in Rasht city. Data were collected at 1week and 2 months post-injury for 89 patients hosptalized in 2008. Instruments used included personal and psycho-social questionnaire, health related quality of life (SF 36 item), Self- Scale for PTSD Rating (SRS-PTSD) and Beck anxiety test   Results : Statistical results showed that 21 victims (22.5%) suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder one month after the accident. Depression mean score and SD was significantly higher in PTSD group (p=0.001). In addition the mean score and SD of duraion of hospitalization was higher in PTSD group ( p=0.03). Conclusion: The findings suggest that some factors, such as depression and duration of hospitalization are related to post-traumatic stress disorder after an accident. Therefore it is recommended to avoid long-term and unnecessary hospitalization. In addition, psychiatric counselling immediately after accident and follow up of psychological symptoms, especially depression is recommended post-discharge .