Traumatic Events Exposure and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Caregivers of Patients with Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Comorbid Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Multiple Sclerosis

Chronic diseases affect the lives of the patient and caregiver. Caring for a patient with a chronic psychiatric illness, such as bipolar disorder, is a stressful and challenging activity. Caregivers of severe psychiatric patients are the primary victims of violence by patients. Caring for these patients can be very stressful for the caregiver to the extent of experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms. This study compares the frequency of trauma exposure and PTSD in the caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder type 1(BD-1), bipolar disorder type 1, comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (BD-1+PTSD), and multiple sclerosis (MS).The MS group served as the control group.  

This cross-sectional study with convenient sampling was conducted at three hospitals in  Tehran, Iran, from April 2020 to January 2022. One hundred eighty caregivers answered a clinical demographic questionnaire. We then used the Trauma History Questionnaire (THQ) to assess the frequency of exposure to different types of trauma. Then, the Persian version of the SCID-5, a valid and reliable instrument for psychiatric diagnoses, was used to diagnose PTSD. Chi-square was used for analyzing data.  

Exposure to trauma has a significant difference between the groups. BD-1 + PTSD patients’ caregivers were exposed to more physical assaults than others (P < 0.0001) There was a significant difference between sexual harassment in the MS group (P = 0.010). There was a significant difference between the three groups in the development of PTSD (P = 0.003). PTSD prevalence in the BD-1 + PTSD caregiver group is more than in other groups. In the caregivers of BD-1+PTSD, the caregiving experience caused traumatic exposure and the development of PTSD in all caregivers. 

This study shows that the prevalence of exposure to traumatic events and PTSD is higher in the caregivers of BD-1 patients, especially if the patient has comorbid PTSD. Detecting these symptoms early and using intervention can make the caregiving burden more tolerable.