Stress and Psychological Distress among SARS Survivors 1 Year after the Outbreak

Our study examined the stress level and psychological distress of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) survivors 1 year after the outbreak. METHOD: During the SARS outbreak in 2003, we used the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) to assess SARS survivors treated in 2 major hospitals (non-health care workers, n = 49; health care workers, n = 30). We invited SARS survivors from the same hospitals (non-health care workers, n = 63; health care workers, n = 33) to complete the PSS-10 again in 2004. At that time, they were also asked to complete the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and measures of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic symptoms. PSS-10 scores were also obtained from matched community control subjects during the outbreak (n = 145) and again in 2004 (n = 112).

SARS survivors had higher stress levels during the outbreak, compared with control subjects (PSS-10 scores = 19.8 and 17.9, respectively; P