Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Coastal Fishing Village in Tamil Nadu, India, After the December 2004 Tsunami
M. Suresh Kumar, MD, DPM, MPH,
Manoj V. Murhekar, MD,
Yvan Hutin, MD, PhD,
Thilakavathi Subramanian, PhD,
Vidya Ramachandran, MSc, MPH, PhD and
Mohan D. Gupte, MD, DPH
The authors are with the National Institute of Epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Chennai, India.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Mohan D. Gupte, MD, DPH, National Institute of Epidemiology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Mayor V. Ramanathan Road, Chetput, Chennai, Tamilnadu 600 031, India (e-mail: nieicmr{at}vsnl.com).
Two months after the December 2004 tsunami in Tamil Nadu, India,we surveyed adults aged 18 years or older in a severely affectedcoastal village using structured interviews and the HarvardTrauma Questionnaire. The prevalence of posttraumatic stressdisorder was 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]=9.4%, 17.1%),and odds of posttraumatic stress disorder were higher amongindividuals with no household incomes, women, and those injuredduring the tsunami.
In addition to promoting feelings of safety, interventions aimedtoward populations affected by the December 2004 tsunami needto focus on income-generating activities. Also, there is a needto target initiatives toward women and those individuals injuredduring the tsunami, given that these groups are more likelyto experience posttraumatic stress disorder.
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