title: Disaster-related psychiatric disorders among survivors of flooding in Ladakh, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Heavy rainfall in northern India in August 2010 caused flash floods, seriously damaging homes and infrastructure. There have been no major disasters in the history of Ladakh, and no surveys on post-disaster psychiatric disorders have been conducted in this area.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the impact of this disaster in Ladakh one month post-disaster, we visited Choglamsar, located near the town of Leh, where the flood had the most severe impact. In total, 318 survivors (mean age: 58.6 years; female-male ratio: 59.7%; Tibetan refugees: 86.2%) participated in the survey. We used the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2) along with questions covering background characteristics and disaster exposure. A psychiatrist interviewed the survivors with a single or double positive score in the PHQ-2 or with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were only two PTSD cases and five of major depressive disorders. PTSD and depression were less common in the Tibetan cultural areas than in other areas. The social background and temperamental characteristics of the Tibetan culture may play a suppressive role in psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Medical Centre East, Tokyo, Japan. mishikawa-tky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Motonao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Naomune
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Gaku
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suwa
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hozo
authors.forename: Tsering
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Norboo
authors.forename: Kiyohito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumiya
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsubayashi
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otsuka
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D055868:Floods; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013694:Temperament; D018609:Tibet / Q000208:ethnology