The course of postdisaster psychiatric disorders in directly exposed civilians after the US Embassy bombing in Nairobi, Kenya: a follow-up study.
OBJECTIVE
While disasters are common in Africa, disaster studies in Africa are underrepresented in the published literature. This study prospectively examined the longitudinal course of psychopathology, coping, and functioning among 128 directly exposed Kenyan civilian survivors of the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Nairobi.


METHODS
The Diagnostic Interview Schedule/Disaster Supplement assessed predisaster and postdisaster psychiatric disorders and variables related to coping, functioning, safety, and religion near the end of the first and third postdisaster years.


RESULTS
Total postdisaster prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the 3-year follow-up was 49; 28% of the sample still had active PTSD. Delayed-onset PTSD was not observed. Posttraumatic symptoms decayed more slowly in individuals with than those without PTSD. PTSD was more prevalent and chronic than major depression. Those with current PTSD or major depression reported more functioning problems than those without. The length of hospitalization for injuries after the bombing predicted major depression remission, but no predictors of PTSD remission were found.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite differences in coping and social variables, longitudinal psychopathology in the Nairobi terrorism survivors appeared broadly similar to results in Western disaster populations. These findings contribute to the understanding of disaster mental health in Africa and may have implications for generalizability of psychiatric effects of terrorist attacks around the globe.
Department of Psychiatry, VA North Texas Health Care System, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8828, USA. quiong@gmail.com
Gus
G
Zhang
Carol S
CS
North
Pushpa
P
Narayanan
You-Seung
YS
Kim
Samuel
S
Thielman
Betty
B
Pfefferbaum
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D054042:Bombs; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007630:Kenya; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011599:Psychopathology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors