Prevalence and associated risk factors of negative cognitive changes after COVID-19 among medical students at Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy

Abstract

The global prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among healthcare workers is increasing following the outbreak of COVID-19. In Vietnam and many other countries, PTSD is considered one of the most common post-COVID-19 conditions, and negative cognitive changes are known to be one of the main symptoms of PTSD. A descriptive cross-sectional study among 540 medical students with the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was administered to describe the prevalence and associated risk factors of negative cognitive changes after COVID-19 among medical students at Hai Phong University of Medicine and Pharmacy after COVID-19 from January to June 2022. The results show that: The percentage of PTSD symptoms in medical students after COVID-19 is 42.78% and the percentage of students with negative cognitive changes are 6.9%. Factors associated with negative cognitive changes include individuals who got COVID-19 more than once (OR= 2.76; 95% CI: 1.07-7.08; p<0.05); between 19 and 21 years of age (OR=2.06; 95%CI: 1.05-4.07; p<0.05); worked in COVID-19 units (OR=9.96; 95%CI: 1.35-73.47; p<0.01). Providing psychiatry knowledge and proactive mental health screening for medical students is essential.