Persistent mental health impacts of disaster. Five-year follow-up after the 2011 great east Japan earthquake and tsunami: Iwanuma Study.

ABSTRACT: Few studies have tracked the long-term mental health outcomes following major disaster. We sought to document the trajectories of depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. A cohort of community-dwelling older adults were followed for 5.5 years after the disaster at 3 waves (2010, 2013 and 2016). Depressive symptoms were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, while PTSS was assessed by the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health. We examined the trajectories of mental illness symptoms based on the probabilities of persistence, recovery, and delayed onset. Among people without pre-disaster depressive symptoms, 13.6% had developed depressive symptoms 2.5 years after the disaste

SUBMITTER: Kino S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7443179 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature