Television watching and the risk of incident probable posttraumatic stress disorder: a prospective evaluation.
The relation between viewing television coverage of a mass disaster and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is poorly understood. A cohort of New Yorkers without baseline probable PTSD (N=1787) was assessed 1 year following the September 11, 2001, attacks. The primary outcome was new-onset probable PTSD assessed through a validated scale, and the primary exposure was number of hours of September 11 anniversary news coverage viewed. A total of 99 (5.6%) of participants had developed probable PTSD at the 1-year follow-up. Watching 12 or more hours of September 11 attack anniversary news coverage was associated with a 3.4-fold increased risk of new-onset probable PTSD (p=0.004). Exposure to television coverage of the September 11 anniversary was associated with new-onset probable PTSD among a cohort of New Yorkers with no probable PTSD at baseline.
Bernstein
Kyle T
KT
Department of Emergency Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.
Ahern
Jennifer
J
Tracy
Melissa
M
Boscarino
Joseph A
JA
Vlahov
David
D
Galea
Sandro
S
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television; D013997:Time Factors