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
LA - en SN - 2542-5196 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30138-9 ID - ref1 ER -