title: Posttraumatic sequelae in a community hit by an avalanche.
abstract: The posttraumatic sequelae for 104 adult inhabitants from the town of Flateyri, Iceland, were studied 10 weeks after an avalanche hit the town killing 20 people. Eighty-seven adults from the neighboring town of Thingeyri constituted a control group. On the basis of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), 25% of the Flateyri group (twice as many than in Thingeyri) reached a level of psychiatric caseness. The most common symptoms were intrusive thoughts and feelings, tension, sadness, and anxiety. The loss of family members was associated with symptomatology. A high number of former life events correlated more strongly with distress symptoms than with the individual appraisal of these events. Distress symptoms were related to gender, age, and education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Landspítali, Iceland.
authors.forename: Thorunn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Finnsdottir
authors.forename: Ask
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elklit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*