Abstract:
Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder is marked by increased stress and anxiety following
exposure to a traumatic or stressful event. Military professionals are high risk for post-traumatic
stress disorder for their involvement to events of conflict However, evidence related to
prevalence and associated factor of post-traumatic stress is limited in the study setting.
Objective: This study aimed to assess prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and
associated factors among military members of armed force admitted at the eastern command
referral hospital, Eastern Ethiopia from May 1-30, 2023.
Method: An institutional based cross-sectional study was employed. A total of 453 participants
were selected by a simple random sampling method. Data were collected through face to face
interview. Post-traumatic stress disorders were measured by the Post-traumatic stress disorder
military version check-list for diagnostic and Statistical manual-5the edition. Epidata version 3.1
and STATA version 14 were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Descriptive statistics
were used to summarize and present data in the tables and figures. Bivariable and Multivariable
logistic regression analysis were used to identify associated factors to post-traumatic stress
disorder. Adjusted odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval were used to report the degree of
association. Variables with P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Results: A total of 445 respondents participated with response rate of 98.2%. The prevalence of
post -traumatic stress disorder in this study was 23.6 % (95 % CI: 19.9, 27.8). Multivariable
logistic regression showed that diagnosed with mental illness (AOR=5.73, 95CI; 2.66-12.31),
family history of mental illness (AOR=10.38, 95CI; 5.36-20.10), current khat chewing
(AOR=2.21, 95CI, 1.13-4.32), physical trauma (AOR=2.03, 95CI, 1.00-4.13), moderate
(AOR=0.27 95CI, 0.14-0.53) and strong social support (AOR=0.09,95 CI,0.02,0.35), severe
depression (AOR=2.06 95CI, 1.74-5.71) were significantly associated with PTSD.
Conclusion: The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder was found to be high in military
personnel. History of mental illness, family history of mental illness, depression, social support,
current use of khat, and physical trauma/ serious injury were significantly associated with
posttraumatic stress disorder. Eastern command referral hospital should focus on early
identification and intervention on individuals with these problems.
