1 Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation, Gannavaram, India.
2 Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute, Kanchipuram, India.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2019 Jun;65(4):338-344. doi: 10.1177/0020764019846166. Epub 2019 May 9.
Floods are the most common type of natural disaster, which have a negative impact on mental health. Following floods, survivors are vulnerable to develop PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.
The aim is to study the psychiatric morbidity in the persons affected by floods during December 2015.
This study was carried out in Chennai and Cuddalore. In total, 223 persons who were directly exposed to floods were assessed. PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version, Beck's Depression Inventory, Beck's Anxiety Inventory and World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Scale (WHO-5) were used in the study. Chi-square test was used to compare the means.
Overall, psychiatric morbidity was found to be 45.29%; 60 (26.9%) persons had symptoms of PTSD. Anxiety was found in 48 (27.4%) and depression was found in 101 (45.29%) persons; and 11 (4.9%) persons have reported an increase in substance abuse.
Following disaster like floods, there is a need for better preparedness in terms of basic necessities and medical and psychological assistance, particularly emphasizing the needs of older persons in order to prevent the development of psychiatric problems.
洪水是最常见的自然灾害类型，对心理健康有负面影响。洪灾后，幸存者容易患上创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）、抑郁、焦虑等心理健康问题。
旨在研究 2015 年 12 月受洪水影响人群的精神疾病发病率。
本研究在钦奈和古达洛尔进行。共有 223 名直接暴露于洪水中的人接受了评估。研究中使用了 PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version、贝克抑郁量表、贝克焦虑量表和世界卫生组织幸福感量表（WHO-5）。使用卡方检验比较均值。
总体而言，精神疾病发病率为 45.29%；60 人（26.9%）有 PTSD 症状。48 人（27.4%）出现焦虑，101 人（45.29%）出现抑郁；11 人（4.9%）报告滥用物质增加。
在像洪水这样的灾害之后，需要更好地准备基本必需品和医疗及心理援助，特别是要强调老年人的需求，以预防精神问题的发生。
