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. 2015 Sep 1;10(9):e0137101.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137101. eCollection 2015.

Prevalence and Predictors of Somatic Symptoms among Child and Adolescents with Probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in 21 Primary and Secondary Schools after an Earthquake

Ye Zhang  1 , Jun Zhang  1 , Shenyue Zhu  2 , Changhui Du  3 , Wei Zhang  1
Affiliations

Prevalence and Predictors of Somatic Symptoms among Child and Adolescents with Probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in 21 Primary and Secondary Schools after an Earthquake

Ye Zhang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the prevalence rates and predictors of somatic symptoms among child and adolescent survivors with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an earthquake.

Methods: A total of 3053 students from 21 primary and secondary schools in Baoxing County were administered the Patient Health Questionnaire-13 (PHQ-13), a short version of PHQ-15 without the two items about sexuality and menstruation, the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES), and the self-made Earthquake-Related Experience Questionnaire 3 months after the Lushan earthquake.

Results: Among child and adolescent survivors, the prevalence rates of all somatic symptoms were higher in the probable PTSD group compared with the controls. The most frequent somatic symptoms were trouble sleeping (83.2%), feeling tired or having low energy (74.4%), stomach pain (63.2%), dizziness (58.1%), and headache (57.7%) in the probable PTSD group. Older age, having lost family members, having witnessed someone get seriously injured, and having witnessed someone get buried were predictors for somatic symptoms among child and adolescent survivors with probable PTSD.

Conclusions: Somatic symptoms among child and adolescent earthquake survivors with probable PTSD in schools were common, and predictors of these somatic symptoms were identified. These findings may help those providing psychological health programs to find the child and adolescent students with probable PTSD who are at high risk of somatic symptoms in schools after an earthquake in China.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow diagram of the participants.
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