A Meta-Analysis of Risk Factors for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults and Children after Earthquakes.

Bihan Tang,Junqiang Dong,Qiangyu Deng,Deborah Glik,Lulu Zhang

doi:10.3390/ijerph14121537

Abstract

PTSD is considered the most common negative psychological reactions among survivors following an earthquake. The present study sought to find out the determinants of PTSD in earthquake survivors using a systematic meta-analysis. Four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycInfo) were used to search for observational studies about PTSD following earthquakes. The literature search, study selection, and data extraction were conducted independently by two authors. 52 articles were included in the study. Summary estimates, subgroup analysis, and publication bias tests were performed on the data. The prevalence of PTSD after earthquakes ranged from 4.10% to 67.07% in adults and from 2.50% to 60.00% in children. For adults, the significant predictors were being female, low education level or socio-economic status, prior trauma; being trapped, experiencing fear, injury, or bereavement during the disaster. For children, the significant predictors were being older age, high education level; being trapped, experiencing fear, injury, or bereavement, witnessing injury/death during the earthquakes. Our study provides implications for the understanding of risk factors for PTSD among earthquake survivors. Post-disaster mental health recovery programs that include early identification, on-going monitoring, and sustained psychosocial support are needed for earthquake survivors.

Highlights

Earthquakes have the greatest destructive effect among all natural disasters [1], as they cause physical impairments, and psychological stresses among victims
Among earthquake survivors published in English between 1980 and April 2016 were included in this meta-analysis
We examined risk factors for Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in earthquake survivors based on the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) reported in each study

Summary

Introduction

Earthquakes have the greatest destructive effect among all natural disasters [1], as they cause physical impairments, and psychological stresses among victims. Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-V), a person must first experience a life threatening traumatic event, an event outside the realm of daily human existence that evokes fear, helplessness, and/or horror [4]. These include a persistent re-experiencing of the event, a persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, and the general numbing of responses to stimuli, as well as persistent symptoms that indicate emotional arousal or stress response [2,5]. Symptoms must last at least for month and cause significant impairment in functioning [6]

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