title: Mental health outcomes among adults in Galveston and Chambers counties after Hurricane Ike.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the mental health effects of Hurricane Ike, the third costliest hurricane in US history, which devastated the upper Texas coast in September 2008.
  
  
  METHODS
  Structured telephone interviews assessing immediate effects of Hurricane Ike (damage, loss, displacement) and mental health diagnoses were administered via random digit-dial methods to a household probability sample of 255 Hurricane Ike-affected adults in Galveston and Chambers counties.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three-fourths of respondents evacuated the area because of Hurricane Ike and nearly 40% were displaced for at least one week. Postdisaster mental health prevalence estimates were 5.9% for posttraumatic stress disorder, 4.5% for major depressive episode, and 9.3% for generalized anxiety disorder. Bivariate analyses suggested that peritraumatic indicators of hurricane exposure severity-such as lack of adequate clean clothing, electricity, food, money, transportation, or water for at least one week-were most consistently associated with mental health problems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The significant contribution of factors such as loss of housing, financial means, clothing, food, and water to the development and/or maintenance of negative mental health consequences highlights the importance of systemic postdisaster intervention resources targeted to meet basic needs in the postdisaster period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA. ruggierk@musc.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.forename: Kirstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gros
authors.forename: Jenna L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McCauley
authors.forename: Heidi S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Resnick
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Dean G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kilpatrick
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Muzzy
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Acierno
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001008:Anxiety Disorders; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012066:Relief Work; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology