@article{ref1,
title="The mental health impact of the 2023 earthquakes on the Syrian population: cross-sectional study",
journal="BJPsych open",
year="2023",
author="Soqia, Jameel and Ghareeb, Amjad and Hadakie, Rana and Alsamara, Kinda and Forbes, David and Jawich, Kenda and Al-Homsi, Alaa and Kakaje, Ameer",
volume="10",
number="1",
pages="e1-e1",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Natural disasters have a significant impact on the mental health of affected populations. The February 2023 earthquakes in Syria and Turkey caused widespread devastation. AIMS: To explore the mental health impact of the earthquakes in Syria on the population across areas differentially damaged by the disaster. <br><br>METHOD: This cross-sectional study conducted in Syria included 1406 adults recruited via social media platforms 1 month after the February 2023 earthquakes. Demographic information, earthquake exposure questions, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5: for probable post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9: for probable depression) and the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7: for probable anxiety) were included to compare outcomes across areas severely, moderately and slightly damaged by the earthquakes. <br><br>RESULTS: Probable PTSD and GAD rates were higher in the severely (57.9 and 57.3% respectively) and moderately damaged regions (55.4 and 56.3% respectively) than in the slightly damaged regions (44.6 and 48.3% respectively) (PTSD: P < 0.001, GAD: P = 0.005). More participants in severely damaged regions (60.6%) reported symptoms of depression compared with moderately (53.1%) and slightly damaged (50.8%) regions (P = 0.003). Poorer mental health outcomes were associated with being female, single, younger, having a damaged or destroyed house, seeing something tragic in person and hearing tragic stories. Seeing something tragic on social media was not statistically significant. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the higher prevalence of probable mental disorders in areas with more severe earthquake damage, with over 50% of the population reporting probable PTSD, depression or anxiety. The study also suggests a significant cumulative effect of these earthquakes on an already trauma- and disaster-affected population.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2056-4724",
doi="10.1192/bjo.2023.598",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.598"
}