title: Prevalence and predictors of stress disorders following two earthquakes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies about stress disorders following a disaster have mainly been based on single-event trauma with little emphasis on multiple traumas.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the prevalence and predictors of stress disorders following two earthquakes in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were randomly sampled from 11 villages in rural China. A total of 624 subjects were administered with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Symptom Checklist -90-R (SCL-90-R), Coping Style Scale and Social Support Rating Scale. This was followed by a structural clinical interview using the Chinese translation of the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV-TR axis 1 disorders (SCID-I-P) for acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of ASD and PTSD was 15% and 29%, respectively. Regression analysis indicated that high intensity of trauma exposure, lower educational level, subjective feeling of economic status and psychological stress after the first earthquake significantly predicted the outcome of PTSD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggested that the prevalence of stress disorders in two earthquakes were higher than that experienced in a single disaster. The intensity of trauma exposure, low educational level, bad subjective feeling of economic status, and psychological stress after the first earthquake could be used to identify survivors at risk of developing PTSD in two earthquakes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical College, Kunming, China. jzhyang2004@163.com
authors.forename: Kang Chuan
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ruo Yao
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhen Yu
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu Dong
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jian Zhong
authors.forename: Jason Glen
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Glen David
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D040701:Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data