Post-traumatic stress disorder associated with natural and human-made disasters in the World Mental Health Surveys.

Journal: Psychological medicine

Volume: 47

Issue: 2

Year of Publication: 2017

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Psychiatry,Stony Brook University School of Medicine,Stony Brook, NY,USA. Department of Mental Health,Moi University School of Medicine,Eldoret,Kenya. Department of Mental Health,School of Public Health,The University of Tokyo,Tokyo,Japan. Subdirección General de Salud Mental, Servicio Murciano de Salud, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP),Murcia,Spain. Department of Psychiatry,Wroclaw Medical University,Wroclaw,Poland. Department of Health Care Policy,Harvard Medical School,Boston, MA,USA. University of California Davis School of Medicine,Sacramento, CA,USA. IMIM-Hospital del Mar Research Institute,Parc de Salut Mar,Barcelona,Spain. School of Psychology, University of Ulster,Londonderry,UK. Department of Psychiatry,University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,Leuven,Belgium. National School of Public Health, Management and Professional Development,Bucharest,Romania. IRCCS St. John of God Clinical Research Centre,Brescia,Italy. Ukrainian Psychiatric Association,Kiev,Ukraine. Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Universitat de Barcelona,Barcelona,Spain. Department of Psychiatry,Interdisciplinary Center, Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation (ICPE), University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen,Groningen,The Netherlands. Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine,Balamand University,Beirut,Lebanon. Department of Psychiatry,Chinese University of Hong Kong,Tai Po,Hong Kong. Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique (EHESP), EA Paris Descartes University,Paris,France. Ramon de la Fuente Muñiz National Institute of Psychiatry,Mexico City,Mexico. Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan,Ann Arbor, MI,USA. Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca University,Bogota,Colombia. Department of Epidemiology,Department of Health and Social Sciences,Murcia Regional Health Council, IMIB-Arrixaca, CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Universidad de Murcia,Murcia,Spain. Department of Health and Welfare for the Disabled,Health and Welfare Bureau,Kawasaki City,Japan.

Abstract summary 

Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following natural and human-made disasters has been undertaken for more than three decades. Although PTSD prevalence estimates vary widely, most are in the 20-40% range in disaster-focused studies but considerably lower (3-5%) in the few general population epidemiological surveys that evaluated disaster-related PTSD as part of a broader clinical assessment. The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys provide an opportunity to examine disaster-related PTSD in representative general population surveys across a much wider range of sites than in previous studies.Although disaster-related PTSD was evaluated in 18 WMH surveys, only six in high-income countries had enough respondents for a risk factor analysis. Predictors considered were socio-demographics, disaster characteristics, and pre-disaster vulnerability factors (childhood family adversities, prior traumatic experiences, and prior mental disorders).Disaster-related PTSD prevalence was 0.0-3.8% among adult (ages 18+) WMH respondents and was significantly related to high education, serious injury or death of someone close, forced displacement from home, and pre-existing vulnerabilities (prior childhood family adversities, other traumas, and mental disorders). Of PTSD cases 44.5% were among the 5% of respondents classified by the model as having highest PTSD risk.Disaster-related PTSD is uncommon in high-income WMH countries. Risk factors are consistent with prior research: severity of exposure, history of prior stress exposure, and pre-existing mental disorders. The high concentration of PTSD among respondents with high predicted risk in our model supports the focus of screening assessments that identify disaster survivors most in need of preventive interventions.

Authors & Co-authors:  Bromet Atwoli Kawakami Navarro-Mateu Piotrowski King Aguilar-Gaxiola Alonso Bunting Demyttenaere Florescu de Girolamo Gluzman Haro de Jonge Karam Lee Kovess-Masfety Medina-Mora Mneimneh Pennell Posada-Villa Salmerón Takeshima Kessler

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Amos T, Stein DJ, Ipser JC. Pharmacological interventions for preventing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2014;7:CD006239.
Authors :  25
Identifiers
Doi : 10.1017/S0033291716002026
SSN : 1469-8978
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Developed Countries
Other Terms
Disaster;PTSD;post-traumatic stress disorder
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Kenya
Publication Country
England