Abstract
BackgroundIn Bangladesh, riverbank erosion is a major problem that regularly displaces millions of people and affects their mental health every year.ObjectivesThe primary objective is to explore the effects of riverbank erosion on mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress in Bangladesh.MethodsWe conducted a household survey from August 2019 to November 2019 on randomly selected adult respondents from Rajbari District located along the Ganges River and Tangail District located along the Brahmaputra River. The respondents were divided into two groups: exposed and non-exposed to riverbank erosion. All participants were asked to complete self-reported questionnaires on the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, and other socio-demographic, economic and riverbanks erosion-related factors. We performed Chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis to explore the significant risk factors (P<0.05) of mental illness (depression, anxiety and stress).ResultsWe surveyed 611 households, of whom 410 were from Rajbari and 201 were from Tangail. Among 611 respondents, 509 (83.31%) were exposed by riverbank erosion whereas 102 (16.69%) were non-exposed. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress (DAS) was 38.30%, 76.60%, 32.41%, respectively, and they were significantly higher among the exposed group than the non-exposed group (depression: 45.19% versus 3.92%, P<0.001; anxiety: 82.71% versus 46.08%, P<0.001; stress: 38.11% versus 3.92%, P<0.001). The respondents exposed to river erosion were respectively 8.28, 2.26 and 5.09 times more likely to develop DAS disorder compared to their non-exposed counterparts (ORD = 8.28, 95% CI = 2.75–24.89; ORA = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.31–3.88; ORS = 5.09, 95% CI = 1.64–15.76). Females and those who lost their houses and displaced, were more likely to have DAS disorder compared to their respective counterparts.ConclusionsThe exposed people were more likely to experience mental health problem and demand some social safety net programs with special focus on female and those who lost houses and displaced.
Highlights
In the world, around 450 million people are suffering from mental health problems, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of illness and disability
The respondents exposed to river erosion were respectively 8.28, 2.26 and 5.09 times more likely to develop DAS disorder compared to their non-exposed counterparts (ORD = 8.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.75–24.89; ORA = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.31–3.88; ORS = 5.09, 95% CI = 1.64–15.76)
The selection of the study area is mainly based on the following considerations: (i) people affected by river erosion are available in the area, (ii) erosion of the areas is recent and ongoing, (iii) the villages of these districts are accessible for the survey, and (iv) high expectation of cooperation and obtaining reliable data from the respondents, the possibility of cooperation and getting reliable data from the respondents were expected to be high
Summary
Around 450 million people are suffering from mental health problems, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of illness and disability. Around 272.5 million people suffer from anxiety disorder worldwide [2]. Natural disasters affect millions of people psychologically and physically all over the world [4], and the consequences are widespread and maybe long term. Riverbank erosion is such a natural disaster, which has been linked to increased prevalence of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, stress, in both developed and developing countries. In Bangladesh, riverbank erosion is a major problem that regularly displaces millions of people and affects their mental health every year
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