title: Mental health disorders in child and adolescent survivors of post-war landmine explosions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To describe the mental health status of 78 child and adolescent survivors of post-war landmine explosions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Child and adolescent survivors of landmine explosions who were younger than 18 years old at the time of the study were identified and enrolled in this study. The mental health status of the participants was assessed by general health assessment and psychiatric examinations. Psychiatric assessment and diagnosis were undertaken using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for mental disorders (DSM-IV) criteria. A psychiatrist visited and interviewed each survivor and identified psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight child and adolescent survivors with a mean age of 16.11 ± 2 years old were identified and agreed to participate in the study. The mean age of the victims at the time of injury was 8.2 ± 3.12 years old (range 2-15). Thirty-seven (47.4 %) of the adolescent survivors suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder. Twenty-nine survivors (37.1 %) were newly diagnosed and needed to start medication and psychiatric treatment. The most common findings were anxiety disorders (34.6 %), including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 20 (25.6 %), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in 7 (9 %) subjects. Mild-Moderate depression was found in 5 (6.4 %) subjects. No personality disorders were observed, and two patients suffered from mental retardation. The study results revealed a significant association between age of casualty, duration of injury and limb amputation, and types of psychological disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Child and adolescent survivors of landmine explosions had a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hemmati
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, DC USA.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shokoohi
authors.affiliation: Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masoumi
authors.affiliation: Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahriar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khateri
authors.affiliation: Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran ; NO.25, Farrokh St., Moghaddas Ardebily Ave., Chamran Highway, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soroush
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Medical Faculty, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Modirian
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology and critical care Labbafinejad Hospital, Medical University of Shahid Beheshti, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahtab
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poor Zamany Nejat Kermany
authors.affiliation: Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.affiliation: Community and Preventive Medicine, Janbazan Medical and Engineering Research Center (JMERC), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Batool
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mousavi
keywords: Anxiety; Child survivors; Depression; Iran; Landmine