Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors following the first SARS-CoV epidemic of 2003: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Drawing lessons from the past may help us to face long term mental health consequences of pandemic. The systematic review and meta-analysis examine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of the first SARS-CoV epidemic in 2003. PubMed, Embase, Science Direct, PsycInfo and Cochrane were searched until March 2025, for articles reporting prevalence or scores of PTSD in survivors following the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic. Random-effects meta-analysis were stratified by time of follow-up. We included 10 studies for the systematic review and 8 for the meta-analysis, i.e. a total of 1769 survivors (39.4 years old, 65% women). Overall prevalence of PTSD was 25% (95CI 19 to 32%). The longest follow-up was 46 months after the epidemic, with a PTSD prevalence of 42% in survivors. Younger patients and female were more at risk of PTSD following a SARS-CoV-1 infection (coefficient − 0.64 per 10-year, 95CI -0.93 to -0.33; and − 0.20 per 10%-male, 95CI -0.24 to -0.08, respectively). Prevalence of PTSD in survivors was high (25%) during the first SARS-CoV-1 epidemic in 2003 and remained high in long-term. Exploring the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic’s effects on mental health may help us to build efficient preventive strategies to face the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.