Hurricane Sandy Exposure and the Mental Health of World Trade Center Responders

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bromet EJ ; Clouston S ; Gonzalez A ; Guerrera KM ; Kotov R ; Luft BJ
• Description:
  The psychological consequences of a second disaster on populations exposed to an earlier disaster have rarely been studied prospectively. Using a pre- and postdesign, we examined the effects of Hurricane Sandy on possible World Trade Center (WTC) related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD Checklist score of >/= 50) and overall depression (major depressive disorder [MDD]; Patient Health Questionnaire depression score of >/= 10) among 870 WTC responders with a follow-up monitoring visit at the Long Island WTC Health Program during the 6 months post-Hurricane Sandy. The Hurricane Sandy exposures evaluated were damage to home (8.3%) and to possessions (7.8%), gasoline shortage (24.1%), prolonged power outage (42.7%), and filing a Federal Emergency Management Agency claim (11.3%). A composite exposure score also was constructed. In unadjusted analyses, Hurricane Sandy exposures were associated with 1.77 to 5.38 increased likelihood of PTSD and 1.58 to 4.13 likelihood of MDD; odds ratios for >/= 3 exposures were 6.47 for PTSD and 6.45 for MDD. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, WTC exposure, pre-Hurricane Sandy mental health status, and time between assessments, reporting >/= 3 Hurricane Sandy exposures was associated with a 3.29 and 3.71 increased likelihood of PTSD and MDD, respectively. These findings underscore the importance of assessing the impact of a subsequent disaster in ongoing responder health surveillance programs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cyclonic Storms Demography Emergency Responders Environmental Exposure Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Mental Disorders Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks Stress, Psychological Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Demographic Characteristics Disaster Response Emergency-responders Environmental Exposure Exposure Assessment Health Programs Health Surveys Hurricanes Medical Monitoring Mental Disorders Mental Health Mental Illness Mental Stress Natural Disasters Psychological Stress Questionnaires Statistical Analysis Surveillance Surveillance Programs Terrorism Traumatic Incident Stress World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  0894-9867
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  107-114
• Volume:
  30
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050261
• Citation:
  J Trauma Stress 2017 Apr; 30(2):107-114
• Contact Point Address:
  E. J. Bromet, Department of Psychiatry, HSC T10 060-Z1, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8101
• Email:
  Evelyn.bromet@stonybrookmedicine.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Stony Brook
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Traumatic Stress
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:44ee884cbb9f04ec054e6ef7385e0cf2d91aa0624589e16e4fda28474cb1e6107df11b0953f1c1ebccf87534353bea0d0778f94595ce56e7b5be80460b123d7a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210683/cdc_210683_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 124.32 KB ]