Psychological Effects of Hazardous Materials Exposures

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brodkin CA ; Burgess JL ; Kovalchick D ; Kyes KB ; Lymp JF ; Roy-Byrne PP ; Russo JE
• Description:
  To study psychological outcomes after hazardous materials incidents. Individuals exposed to hazardous materials were contacted to complete a telephone questionnaire within 8 to 40 days of the incident. The Brief Symptoms Inventory was used for psychological assessment. General severity index, depression, anxiety, hostility, and somatization were analyzed. Positive findings were defined as two standard deviations above a normative mean. A total of 202 (60%) of the 339 subjects in 87 incidents were surveyed. For 159 adults with valid Brief Symptoms Inventory scores, all dimensions were within normal ranges of elevation, with 1% to 5% of the subject pool having elevation, except for somatization. Twenty-four (14%) of 160 subjects had elevated somatization scores. Based on logistic regression analysis, prior medical therapy for a psychological condition and transport to a health care facility were predictors of elevated somatization scores. Somatization was the most frequently elevated score after exposure to hazardous materials incidents. Further research is needed to determine whether specific risk factors are useful in identifying individuals for intervention after hazardous materials incidents. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Mental Health Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Hazardous-materials Psychological-effects Questionnaires Risk-analysis Risk-factors
• ISSN:
  0033-3174
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  64
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031192
• Citation:
  Psychosom Med 2002 Sep-Oct; 64(5):841-846
• Contact Point Address:
  Jefferey L. Burgess, MD, MPH, Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Arizona College of Public Health, 1435 N. Fremont, Tucson, AZ 85719
• Email:
  jburgess@u.arizona.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Psychosomatic Medicine
• End Date:
  20060630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c02b5711333d6086c3e8481278cc559d2e2b131e8daa7473798f18a5531d38bdc39cce98688a129e7ffe6765e3d12292120ae0ae1a1a65d21bad2ab4d7a3d126
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191515/cdc_191515_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 271.02 KB ]