@article{ref1,
title="Pre- and peri-traumatic event stressors drive gender differences in chronic stress-related psychological sequelae: a prospective cohort study of COVID-19 frontline healthcare providers",
journal="Journal of psychiatric research",
year="2023",
author="Hennein, Rachel and Lowe, Sarah R. and Feingold, Jordyn H. and Feder, Adriana and Peccoralo, Lauren A. and Ripp, Jonathan A. and Mazure, Carolyn M. and Pietrzak, Robert H.",
volume="162",
number="",
pages="88-94",
abstract="Women are at heightened risk for chronic stress-related psychological sequelae (SRPS), including major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in response to potentially traumatic events, including the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have examined pre- and peri-event stressors that could account for gender differences in chronic SRPS. To address this gap, we conducted a prospective cohort study of healthcare providers (HCPs) caring for patients with COVID-19 at a large tertiary care hospital in New York City, and measured mental health risk factors and symptoms of MDD, GAD, and PTSD at baseline (April 2020) and at a 7-month follow-up (December 2020). We defined chronic SRPS as the presence of probable MDD, GAD, and/or PTSD at both timepoints. We conducted a mediation analysis to evaluate whether pre- and peri-event stressors explained women's increased risk for chronic SRPS. Among our sample of 786 HCPs, 571 (72.6%) were women. Compared with men, women were twice as likely to have chronic SRPS (18.7% vs. 8.8%, χ(2)[1] = 11.38, p < 0.001). However, after accounting for pre- and peri-event stressors, being a woman was no longer associated with chronic SRPS (p = 0.58). The pre- and peri-event stressors that accounted for this heightened risk among women included being in a woman-prevalent profession (specifically nursing; estimate = 0.08, SE = 0.04, p = 0.05), pre-pandemic burnout (estimate = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.04), greater family-related (estimate = 0.09, SE = 0.03, p = 0.004), infection-related (estimate = 0.06, SE = 0.02, p = 0.007), and work-related concerns (estimate = 0.11, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001), and lower leadership support (estimate = 0.07, SE = 0.03, p = 0.005). These findings can inform institutional interventions to mitigate the risk of chronic SRPS among women HCPs.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0022-3956",
doi="10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.04.009",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.04.009"
}