Uncorrected Proof Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. In Press(In Press):e115663. Published online 2022 January 18. doi: 10.5812/ijpbs.115663. Research Article Evaluation of the Frequency of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in Patients with COVID-19 Admitted to Hospitals in Sari, Iran in 2020 Seyed Hamzeh Hosseini 1, 2 , Forouzan Elyasi 1, 2 , Mahmood Moosazadeh 3, 4 and Ideh Ghafour 1, * 1 Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran 2 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran 3 Gastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Non-communicable Diseases Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran 4 Health Sciences Research center, Addiction Institute, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran * Corresponding author: Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Email: ideh.bhn@gmail.com Received 2021 April 28; Revised 2021 September 05; Accepted 2021 December 30. Abstract Backgrounds: The COVID-19 epidemic has affected people’s mental health around the world. According to previous epidemics, an increase in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been seen until one year later. Objectives: Due to the importance of psychological issues secondary to COVID-19, in this study, the frequency of PTSD symptoms in the follow-up of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Sari was evaluated. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 199 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were hospitalized in Sari were identified, and patients’ records were recorded. PTSD criteria were assessed based on the PTSD Checklist for DSM 5 (PCL-5). Data were analyzed using SPSS 16. Results: In the present study, the overall prevalence of PTSD was 19.1% (38 patients). The frequency of PTSD was higher in women, married people, people with children, and those aged 20-44 years. The prevalence of PTSD was higher in 29 patients (38.2%) with higher education. Conclusions: This study showed that PTSD has a high prevalence in people with a history of COVID-19, and it is necessary for these patients to undergo psychiatric evaluations. Keywords: COVID-19, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Psychiatric Complications 1. Background Infectious diseases are regarded as the most signifi- cant public health threat all over the world in the 21st cen- tury (1). Upon the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in- fection (coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)), the constant influx of information and some concerns in this respect have influenced mental health conditions worldwide. The psychological burden of this pandemic has been thus a major challenge facing patients, the general population, policy-makers, and healthcare workers (HCWs) (2). Previ- ous research has also demonstrated that the mental health needs of patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, family members of quarantined cases, and HCWs have not yet been adequately managed (3, 4). Uncertainties about the disease and social issues, such as quarantine, have ac- cordingly caused anxiety and fear. Some significant psy- chiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, panic attacks, and behavioral prob- lems, are likely to arise in such situations. Accordingly, be- ing away from family, a sense of loneliness, access to false and misleading content in the media, economic insecurity, and exposure to stigmatization are factors predisposing individuals to psychiatric problems during this period (5, 6). Even though people tend to demonstrate positive re- silience more often following traumatic events, there are some risk factors, making it difficult for them to adapt and bounce back, such as a history of mental illnesses, female gender, lack of social support, having young children, and feelings of helplessness or high-intensity emotions, e.g., anger (7). 2. Objectives The etiology of psychological problems after being ex- posed to COVID-19 is multifactorial, and there are even sev- eral factors, including the direct impact of the virus on the brain (viz. brain infections), cerebrovascular involvement, Copyright © 2022, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.