Citation

Schwartz RM, Liu B, Lieberman-Cribbin W, Taioli E. Lancet Planet. Health 2017; 1(8): e314.

Affiliation

Department of Population Health Science, Policy and Institute for Translational Epidemiology, and Mount Sinai Center for Trauma, Disaster Mental Health and Resilience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA. Electronic address: emanuela.taioli@mountsinai.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30138-9

PMID

29628166

Abstract

We read with interest the Article by Alice Munro and colleagues, and have observed similar results in a cohort of 1615 New York residents affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Participants completed a questionnaire that measured mental health symptoms, Hurricane Sandy exposure, and displacement. The PHQ-4 depression scale was used to assess symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder and depression, the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Specific was used to assess symptoms of probable post-traumatic stress disorder specific to Hurricane Sandy, and the Perceived Stress Scale was implemented as a general measure of perceived stress. The mean time since Hurricane Sandy was 14·47 months (SD 3·26, range 11·81–27·93). In this cohort, displaced participants (729 [45%]) were more likely to have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2·21, 95% CI 1·73–2·82), depression (1·37, 1·05–1·79), anxiety (1·30, 1·01–1·67), and increased perceived stress (β value 1·16, SE 0·38) compared with non-displaced participants, after adjusting for age, sex, race, Hispanic ethnicity, education, previous mental health conditions, and time since Hurricane Sandy.

We have since re-interviewed 130 participants from the original cohort in a follow-up study.4 The mean time since Hurricane Sandy was 33·27 months (SD 5·28, range 27·73–43·75). Experiencing personal and property damage during Hurricane Sandy continued to be positively associated with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at follow-up (adjusted OR 1·2, 95% CI 1·1–1·4).

Of the 130 participants who were re-interviewed, 50 (38%) were displaced because of Hurricane Sandy. At baseline ...

Language: en