Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric diagnosis made when someone including children who experiences traumatic stressor. Those who are exposed to a more severe trauma have highest level of PTSD. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of PTSD and its associated factors among 219 children who were affected by a form of natural disaster which is the tsunami waves in a rural area in Malaysia. A cross sectional study was carried out among children aged 10-12 years 6 months after the traumatic event. Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder -Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI) was used as a screening instrument which was answered by the affected children through a self-administered questionnaire. Forty six percent of these children had PTSD symptoms; 31.1% of these children had mild, 11.4% had moderate, 3.7% had severe PTSD and none had very severe PTSD. Result also showed that 91.8% had re-experiencing symptoms, 28.3% had numbing/avoidance symptoms and 49.3% had hyperarousal symptoms. Children with low social support (Adj OR = 2.3 (95% CI: = 1.3- 4.2)), and children who experienced deaths among someone close to them (Adj OR = 3.7 (95% CI =1.2 - 11.5)) were more likely to have symptoms of PTSD. This showed that children are at higher risk of developing PTSD as early as 6 months after the event and thus early intervention should be offered to them. Future longitudinal study can be carried out among affected children to assess whether these PTSD symptoms persist over time.

Aim To determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress, and its associated sociodemographic and clinical factors among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Background The number of PLWHA with a near-normal life expectancy has been increasing. This has led them to face various challenges living with the disease, exposing them to multiple psychological problems. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at an HIV clinic in a government hospital in Northern Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 206 PLWHA were recruited using systematic random sampling. Sociodemographic factors and presence of negative emotional states were recorded using a self-administered questionnaire comprising the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). Results The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress were 36.9%, 45.1% and 26.7% respectively. The majority had moderate to extremely severe symptoms of depression (71.1%), anxiety (88.2%), and stress (72.27%). After controlling for cofounders using multiple logistic regression, those with a co-morbidity had 3.02 times the odds of having depression compared to those without co-morbidity (p = 0.01). The non-Malays had 53% less chance to experience anxiety compared to Malays (p = 0.01). Those with lower monthly household income were more likely to experience stress than those with higher income, the worst was among participants with income of