School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, 35 Poplar Road, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Aug 18;23(1):1573. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16501-1.
Wildfires cause significant physical and mental ill-health. How physical and mental symptoms interact following wildfire smoke exposure is unclear, particularly in the context of repeated exposures. In this cross-sectional study we investigated how posttraumatic stress and general psychological distress associated with somatic symptoms in a community exposed to multiple smoke events.
A random weighted sample of 709 adults exposed to smoke during the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire in south-eastern Australia completed a survey in 2020. The survey coincided with the Black Summer wildfires that caused a similar period of smoke haze in the region. Participants self-reported somatic symptoms (PHQ-15) and mine fire-related posttraumatic stress (IES-R) experienced over the previous week, general psychological distress (K10) experienced over the previous four weeks, lifetime health diagnoses and demographic information. Associations between posttraumatic stress, general psychological distress, and each PHQ-15 somatic symptom were analysed using ordinal logistic regression models.
Overall, 36.2% of participants reported moderate- or high-level somatic symptomology. The most frequent somatic symptoms were fatigue, limb pain, trouble sleeping, back pain, headaches, and shortness of breath. After controlling for confounding factors, general psychological distress and posttraumatic stress were independently associated with all somatic symptoms (except menstrual problems in females for posttraumatic stress).
Results highlight the high prevalence of somatic symptoms and their association with general psychological distress and posttraumatic stress within a community in the midst of a second large-scale smoke event. It is essential that healthcare providers and public health authorities consider the interconnections of these conditions when supporting communities affected by climate-related disasters.
野火会导致严重的身心健康问题。暴露于野火烟雾后，身体和心理症状如何相互作用尚不清楚，尤其是在反复暴露的情况下。在这项横断面研究中，我们研究了在多次烟雾暴露事件中，社区中接触烟雾的个体的创伤后应激和一般心理困扰与躯体症状之间的关系。
我们对 2014 年澳大利亚东南部哈泽伍德煤矿火灾中暴露于烟雾的 709 名成年人进行了一项随机加权抽样调查，这些人在 2020 年完成了一项调查。该调查恰逢“黑色夏天”野火，导致该地区出现了类似的烟雾阴霾期。参与者自我报告了过去一周内经历的躯体症状（PHQ-15）和与矿山火灾相关的创伤后应激（IES-R）、过去四周内经历的一般心理困扰（K10）、终身健康诊断和人口统计学信息。使用有序逻辑回归模型分析创伤后应激、一般心理困扰与每个 PHQ-15 躯体症状之间的关联。
总体而言，36.2%的参与者报告了中重度或高度躯体症状。最常见的躯体症状是疲劳、肢体疼痛、睡眠困难、背痛、头痛和呼吸急促。在控制混杂因素后，一般心理困扰和创伤后应激与所有躯体症状（女性的月经问题除外）独立相关。
研究结果强调了在第二次大规模烟雾事件中，社区内躯体症状的高患病率及其与一般心理困扰和创伤后应激的关系。在支持受气候相关灾害影响的社区时，医疗保健提供者和公共卫生当局必须考虑这些情况的相互关联。
