Comorbidity of 9/11-related PTSD and depression in the World Trade Center Health Registry 10-11 years postdisaster

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brackbill RM ; Caramanica K ; Liao T ; Stellman SD
• Description:
  Many studies report elevated prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among persons exposed to the September 11, 2001 (9/11) disaster compared to those unexposed; few have evaluated long-term PTSD with comorbid depression. We examined prevalence and risk factors for probable PTSD, probable depression, and both conditions 10-11 years post-9/11 among 29,486 World Trade Center Health Registry enrollees who completed surveys at Wave 1 (2003-2004), Wave 2 (2006-2007), and Wave 3 (2011-2012). Enrollees reporting physician diagnosed pre-9/11 PTSD or depression were excluded. PTSD was defined as scoring > 44 on the PTSD Checklist and depression as scoring > 10 on the 8-item Patient Health Questionnaire. We examined 4 groups: comorbid PTSD and depression, PTSD only, depression only, and neither. Among enrollees, 15.2% reported symptoms indicative of PTSD at Wave 3, 14.9% of depression, and 10.1% of both. Comorbid PTSD and depression was associated with high 9/11 exposures, low social integration, health-related unemployment, and experiencing > 1 traumatic life event post-9/11. Comorbid persons experienced poorer outcomes on all PTSD-related impairment measures, life satisfaction, overall health, and unmet mental health care need compared to those with only a single condition. These findings highlight the importance of ongoing screening and treatment for both conditions, particularly among those at risk for mental health comorbidity. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Mental Disorders Mental Health Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Emergency-responders Mental-disorders Mental-health Mental-stress Questionnaires Rescue-workers Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Workers
• ISSN:
  0894-9867
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046536
• Citation:
  J Trauma Stress 2014 Dec; 27(6):680-688
• Contact Point Address:
  Kimberly Caramanica, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, 42-09 28th Street, Long Island City, New York 11101
• Email:
  kcaramanica@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Traumatic Stress
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:77af2821df97d94ec808a46156456788cea067d18db4470c9d1a00216b57120bfb31460730a039ff1bbfc75500ff2ca97cd49dddbb3a121c0fd970bb057befd2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201556/cdc_201556_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 185.31 KB ]