Risk of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in survivors of the floods in Bihar, India.
BACKGROUND
Following a natural disaster, survivors are vulnerable to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/ or depression.


OBJECTIVE
(i) To screen survivors of the Bihar floods a month after the event to determine their scores in a screening questionnaire for PTSD and/ or depression and (ii) to correlate these scores with age and gender.


METHODS
One thousand two hundred eighty-nine persons (645 females) who had been directly exposed to the floods in Bihar, India, in August 2008 were assessed. The Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (SQD) was used to screen for PTSD and depression.


METHODS
Separate two-factor ANOVAs were used to compare persons of both sexes and 5 different age groups for PTSD and depression scores. This was followed by post-hoc analysis for multiple comparisons.


RESULTS
People over the age of 60 years had significantly higher scores for PTSD and depression compared to all groups (P< 0.05 for all comparisons).


CONCLUSIONS
Following a natural disaster, older people appear more vulnerable to develop PTSD and depression. This should be taken into account in devising strategies for disaster relief.
Telles
Shirley
S
Department of Yoga Research and Development, Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, India. shirleytelles@gmail.com
Singh
Nilkamal
N
Joshi
Meesha
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D055868:Floods; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*