Citation

Holgersen KH, Klöckner CA, Bøe HJ, Holen A. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2016; 204(7): 506-512.

Affiliation

*Division of Psychiatry, Tiller Department, St. Olavs University Hospital; †Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim; ‡Institute of Military Psychiatry, Norwegian Armed Forces Medical Services, Oslo; §Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Kongsberg; ∥Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; and ¶Pain Unit, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0000000000000500

PMID

27027657

Abstract

Extended functional impairment characterized by sick leave and disability after a single disaster has not been documented before. This prospective, longitudinal, case-control study applied growth mixture modeling to predict trajectories of functional impairment in oil rig workers, survivors (n = 68) and a matched comparison group (n = 84), over 27 years after the 1980 North Sea oil rig disaster. In the initial 12 years post-disaster, survivors displayed higher rates of functional impairment than the comparison group. A minor group of survivors (n = 8, 11.8%) demonstrated persistent functional impairment from the start and remained unable to work during the subsequent three decades. Long-term sick leave and disability were related to perceived peritraumatic death threat and a propensity towards social withdrawal. Most survivors (n = 60) revealed no major functional impairment. The study indicates that functional impairment should be counteracted in the early support after a single disaster.

Language: en