title: Post-traumatic stress disorder in an emergency department population one year after Hurricane Katrina.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hurricane Katrina resulted in a significant amount of injury, death, and destruction.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an emergency department (ED) population, 1 year after hurricane Katrina.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey data including the Primary Care PTSD (PC-PTSD) screening instrument, demographic data, and questions regarding health care needs and personal loss were collected and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven hundred forty-seven subjects completed the survey. The PC-PTSD screen was positive in 38%. In the single variate analysis, there was a correlation with a positive PC-PTSD screen and the following: staying in New Orleans during the storm (odds ratio [OR] 1.73, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-2.34), having material losses (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.03-2.60), experiencing the death of a loved one (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.35-1.87), needing health care during the storm (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.48-2.73), and not having health care needs met during the storm (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.26-3.18) or after returning to New Orleans (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.40-3.73). In the multivariate analysis, the death of a loved one (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.26-2.78), being in New Orleans during the storm (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.22-2.33), and seeking health care during the storm (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.22-2.35) were associated with positive PC-PTSD screens.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a high prevalence of PTSD in this ED population surveyed 1 year after hurricane Katrina. By targeting high-risk patients, disaster relief teams may be able to reduce the impact of PTSD in similar populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Trevor J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: Marlow
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Macht
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levitan
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Wulf
authors.forename: Natasha S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Afonso
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001601:Bereavement; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D055820:New Orleans / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*