TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Hurricane Florence and suicide mortality in North Carolina: a controlled interrupted time-series analysis
JO  - Injury prevention
A1  - Miller, Vanessa Eve
A1  - Pence, Brian W.
A1  - Fitch, Kate Vinita
A1  - Swilley-Martinez, Monica
A1  - Kavee, Andrew L.
A1  - Dorris, Samantha
A1  - Cooper, Toska
A1  - Keil, Alexander P.
A1  - Gaynes, Bradley N.
A1  - Carey, Timothy S.
A1  - Goldston, David
A1  - Ranapurwala, Shabbar
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Natural disasters are associated with increased mental health disorders and suicidal ideation; however, associations with suicide deaths are not well understood. We explored how Hurricane Florence, which made landfall in September 2018, may have impacted suicide deaths in North Carolina (NC). <br><br>METHODS: We used publicly available NC death records data to estimate associations between Hurricane Florence and monthly suicide death rates using a controlled, interrupted time series analysis. Hurricane exposure was determined by using county-level support designations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We examined effect modification by sex, age group, and race/ethnicity. <br><br>RESULTS: 8363 suicide deaths occurred between January 2014 and December 2019. The overall suicide death rate in NC between 2014 and 2019 was 15.53 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI 15.20 to 15.87). Post-Hurricane, there was a small, immediate increase in the suicide death rate among exposed counties (0.89/100 000 PY; 95% CI -2.69 to 4.48). Comparing exposed and unexposed counties, there was no sustained post-Hurricane Florence change in suicide death rate trends (0.02/100 000 PY per month; 95% CI -0.33 to 0.38). Relative to 2018, NC experienced a statewide decline in suicides in 2019. An immediate increase in suicide deaths in Hurricane-affected counties versus Hurricane-unaffected counties was observed among women, people under age 65 and non-Hispanic black individuals, but there was no sustained change in the months after Hurricane Florence. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Although results did not indicate a strong post-Hurricane Florence impact on suicide rates, subgroup analysis suggests differential impacts of Hurricane Florence on several groups, warranting future follow-up.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1353-8047
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ip-2022-044709
ID  - ref1
ER  -