Long term impact of Wenchuan earthquake on population mental and behavioral disorders in heavily-stricken areas: An ecological study based on big data

Abstract

BackgroundThis study aimed to explore and evaluate the development trends and differential changes in the prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders among the earthquake survivors in exposure groups (highly hard-hit areas) and control groups (general disaster areas) from 2015 to 2019, as well as to investigate the potential influencing factors. MethodsData was obtained from the Sichuan Health Information System and the Sichuan Health Yearbook, the prevalence of the exposure group and the control group were calculated, the difference between the two groups was evaluated using the prevalence rate ratio, and a fixed effect model was developed to investigate the potential influencing factors of the prevalence. ResultsThe prevalence by gender and age in the exposure group was always greater than those in the control group (RR>1), although the disparity between the two proceeded to diminish with time. The urbanization rate (β = 0.0448, P < 0.05) and disaster area levels (β = 0.0104, P < 0.05) were risk factors for the prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders. LimitationsThe study only collected data at the group level following the Wenchuan earthquake. Consequently, the findings are only applicable at the group level. Furthermore, diagnostic criteria for various types of mental and behavioral disorders diseases were not provided. ConclusionsThe earthquake has a significant long-term impact on mental health. It is necessary to continuously monitor the mental health of Wenchuan earthquake survivors and take appropriate post-disaster intervention measures.