Anxiety And Mood Disorders Affect Many Affected By Katrina

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Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Depression;  Aid / Disasters
Article Date: 04 Dec 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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A disproportionately high number of pre-Katrina New Orleans residents are affected by anxiety or mood disorders, according to an article published in Archives of General Psychiatry (JAMA/Archives). Approximately one quarter of residents who live in other affected areas also suffer from mood disorders and/or anxiety, the study reveals.

The authors explain "Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural disaster in the United States in the past 75 years, creating a disaster region as large as Great Britain, killing more than 1,000 people, uprooting 500,000 others and causing more than $100 billion in damage. This vast devastation would lead us to expect a high prevalence of mental illness among people who lived through Katrina."

Sandro Galea, M.D., Dr. P.H., University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, and team carried out a telephone survey involving 1,043 residents who lived in the affected areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana before Hurricane Katrina struck. The survey took place during Jan 19 - March 31, 2006, approximately 5-7 months after the disaster. The interviewees were asked about stressors related to the hurricane and checked for mood and anxiety disorder symptoms - these included panic disorders, depression, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), within 30 days of the interview.

The researchers found that;

-- 31.2% of them had an anxiety-mood disorder (49.1% of New Orleans metropolitan area residents and 26.4% of other participants)

-- 16.3% had PTSD (30.3% of New Orleans residents, 12.5% of others)

-- A higher percentage of people suffered from an anxiety-mood disorder if they were under 60, female, non-graduates, unmarried, unemployed, and/or came from a low income home

-- Hispanics had lower rates of anxiety mood disorders

The researchers wrote "The vast majority of respondents both in the New Orleans metro (91.9 percent) and in the remainder of the sample (81.7 percent) reported experiencing at least one of the 10 categories of hurricane-related stressors," including the death of a family member, robbery, injury or property loss.

The researchers explained that the extent of exposure to these stressors was more closely linked to anxiety-mood disorders among New Orleans residents, compared to those from other areas. While New Orleans residents were the most susceptible to experiencing anxiety-mood disorders after physical illness, injury or physical adversity, the other residents were more prone to these disorders following property loss.

The authors found that the rate of these disorders among New Orleans residents was significantly higher than one would expect following a natural disaster in the USA. However, rates for those from other areas who were affected by Katrina were more-or-less equivalent.

"Evidence that avoidable stressors associated with the slow government response to Hurricane Katrina (e.g., physical adversity) had important implications for the mental health of people who lived through Katrina argues strongly for the importance of efficient provision of practical and logistical assistance in future disasters, not only on humanitarian grounds, but also as a way to minimize the adverse mental health effects of disasters," the authors conclude.

"Exposure to Hurricane-Related Stressors and Mental Illness After Hurricane Katrina"
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH; Chris R. Brewin, PhD; Michael Gruber, MA; Russell T. Jones, PhD; Daniel W. King, PhD; Lynda A. King, PhD; Richard J. McNally, PhD; Robert J. Ursano, MD; Maria Petukhova, PhD; Ronald C. Kessler, PhD
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64(12):1427-1434.
Click here to view abstract online

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
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