Post-traumatic stress disorder in a sample of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Introduction: Lebanon is the main hosting country for the Syrian crisis, with more than one million Syrian refugees. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and identify its possible predictors, in a sample of Syrian refugees living in camps in Lebanon. Method: We conducted a household survey on Syrian refugees between 18 and 65 years old in 6 camps of the Central Bekaa region, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) as a diagnostic tool. Results: Among the 452 respondents, we found a lifetime prevalence of PTSD of 35.4%, and a point prevalence of 27.2%. The lifetime prevalence of SUD was 1.99% and the point prevalence 0.66%. Multivariate logistic regression could not identify any predictor of current PTSD among a list of demographic variables, but identified the Syrian hometown as a significant predictor of lifetime PTSD (p = .013), with refugees from Aleppo having significantly more PTSD than those coming from Homs (adjusted OR 2.14, 95% CI [1.28, 3.56], p = .004). Discussion: PTSD was a real mental health issue in our sample of adult Syrian refugees in Central Bekaa camps, unlike SUD. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.