title: Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in a coastal fishing village in Tamil Nadu, India, after the December 2004 tsunami.
abstract: Two months after the December 2004 tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India, we surveyed adults aged 18 years or older in a severely affected coastal village using structured interviews and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder was 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]=9.4%, 17.1%), and odds of posttraumatic stress disorder were higher among individuals with no household incomes, women, and those injured during the tsunami. In addition to promoting feelings of safety, interventions aimed toward populations affected by the December 2004 tsunami need to focus on income-generating activities. Also, there is a need to target initiatives toward women and those individuals injured during the tsunami, given that these groups are more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: M Suresh
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Manoj V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Murhekar
authors.forename: Yvan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hutin
authors.forename: Thilakavathi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: Vidya
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Mohan D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Gupte
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D005398:Fisheries; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*