Citation

Gigantesco A, Mirante N, Granchelli C, Diodati G, Cofini V, Mancini C, Carbonelli A, Tarolla E, Minardi V, Salmaso S, D'Argenio P. J. Affect. Disord. 2013; 148(2-3): 265-271.

Affiliation

Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy. Electronic address: antonella.gigantesco@iss.it.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2012.12.006

PMID

23287524

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To date, there are no data available among the general adult population on the long-term psychological sequelae of the earthquake that occurred in the town of L'Aquila, Italy in 2009. We investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MD) and identified risk factors for these disorders among adult survivors more than one year after the earthquake. METHODS: Telephone interviews were conducted among a random sample of 957 resident adults. The interviews were performed using a questionnaire on exposure to the earthquake, the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for PTSD, and the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 for MD. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess potential risk factors. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of PTSD and MD were 4.1% (95% CI=3.0-5.5) and 5.8% (95% CI=4.5-7.5), respectively. The risk factors for PTSD were economic difficulties not necessarily related to the earthquake, chronic disease, death of a relative or friend, and serious economic difficulties as consequence of the earthquake, whereas those for MD were female gender, economic difficulties not necessarily related to the earthquake, not having a permanent job and living in L'Aquila. LIMITATIONS: The major limitations were the cross sectional design and the uncertain accuracy of the diagnoses compared with clinical diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological symptoms are frequent even 14-19 months after the L'Aquila earthquake. The mental health care providers in the area of L'Aquila should be aware of the possibility of PTSD or MD among their users.

Language: en