Prevalence and Risk Factors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a North Cyprus Household Adult Cross-Sectional Study

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in other words impairment after post-traumatic difficulty, is one of the most important topics investigated by mental health professionals all over the world. Objectives: In this article, the results of the 2017 national household survey of PTSD in North Cyprus (NC) are presented. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence and risk factors of depression in NC households. The study was conducted between April and June 2017, the sample consisting of Turkish-speaking individuals between 18-88 years of age living permanently in NC. A multi-stage stratified (randomized) quota was used in the survey, and 978 people were selected according to the 2011 census. Demographic Information Form, Traumatic Events List and Traumatic Stress Symptom Scale were used. PTSD prevalence was stated as 19% for NC. Being women, widow, unemployed, housewife, having a physical illness, having a psychiatric illness, being treated by a physical illness, living in a Greek property, living single or with a relative, defined as risk factors of PTSD in the present study. When the significance of the regression coefficients is examined according to the traumatic life events, only domestic violence and fire or explosion found as a significant predictor for the PTSD. When we consider the world prevalence, NC has higher PTSD prevalence similar with other post conflict regions in the world. NC has environmental and socio-cultural characteristics such as a history of war, migration and colonization, high unemployment rates, socioeconomic problems, similar to other high prevalence PTSD countries and regions, which give a strong indication of the importance of socio-cultural factors on PTSD.