ArticlePsychological medicine2021
25-year follow-up of treated and not-treated adolescents after the Spitak earthquake: course and predictors of PTSD and depression.
Article in Psychological medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prevention of mental disorders after exposure to natural hazards: a meta-analysis.BMJ mental health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence of mental disorders in adult populations from the Global South following exposure to natural hazards: a meta-analysis.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Determinants of multimorbidity in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of longitudinal studies and discovery of evidence gaps.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2024Pooled it
- The Long-Term Mental Health Impact of Disasters: A Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Epidemiological Studies.Harvard review of psychiatryPooled it
- Maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms, neuroticism, and posttraumatic growth as predictors of children's posttraumatic stress symptoms following the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- Longitudinal effects of bushfire harm on adolescent mental health.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Predictors of Persistent Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms After 2023 Maras Earthquake: The Impact of Gender, Loss, and Coping Strategies.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder in earthquake survivors living in temporary shelter areas in Hatay central districts: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Parent-child relationship, parenting behaviors, and adolescents' depressive symptoms after an earthquake: unraveling within-adolescent associations from between-adolescent differences.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of mental health and psychosocial support programmes following natural disasters in developing countries: A systematic review.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Review
- A study of post-traumatic stress disorder in schizophrenic patients 35 years after experiencing the Tangshan earthquake.Brain and behavior · 2023Article
- Association between Dietary Diversity and Sociopsychological Factors and the Onset of Dyslipidemia after the Great East Japan Earthquake: Fukushima Health Management Survey.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Implementation of online classes during national school closure due to COVID-19 and mental health symptoms of adolescents: A cross-sectional survey of 5000 students.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2022Article
- Trauma-Informed Care for Hospitalized Adolescents.Current pediatrics reports · 2022Review
- PTSD: Past, present and future implications for China.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2021Review
- 25-year follow-up of treated and not-treated adolescents after the Spitak earthquake: course and predictors of PTSD and depression-ERRATUM.Psychological medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is a paucity of long-term prospective disaster studies of the psychological sequelae among survivors.
methodsAt 1½ and 25 years after the Spitak earthquake, 142 early adolescents from two cities were assessed: Gumri (moderate-severe exposure) and Spitak (very severe exposure). The Gumri group included treated and not-treated subjects, while the Spitak group included not-treated subjects. Instruments included: DSM-III-R PTSD-Reaction Index (PTSD-RI); DSM-5 PTSD-Checklist (PCL); Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS); and Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D).
results(1) Between 1½ and 25 years, PTSD rates and mean scores decreased significantly in the three groups (over 50%). However, at 25 years 9.1-22.4% met DSM-5 PTSD criteria. (2) At 1½ years, the Spitak group had higher PTSD-RI (p < 0.001) and DSRS scores (p < 0.001) compared to the Gumri-not-treated group. At 25 years, the Spitak group that had experienced fewer post-earthquake adversities (p < 0.03), had a greater decrease in PTSD-RI scores (p < 0.02), and lower CES-D scores (p < 0.01). (3) Before treatment, PTSD-RI and DSRS scores did not differ between the Gumri-treated and not-treated groups. At 25-years, the Gumri-treated group showed a greater decrease in PTSD-RI scores (p < 0.03), and lower mean PTSD-RI (p < 0.02), PCL (p < 0.02), and CES-D (p < 0.01) scores. (4) Predictors of PTSD symptom severity at 25-years included: home destruction, treatment, social support, post-earthquake adversities, and chronic medical illnesses.
conclusionPost-disaster PTSD and depressive symptoms can persist for decades. Trauma-focused treatment, alleviation of post-disaster adversities, improving the social ecology, and monitoring for chronic medical illnesses are essential components of recovery programs.
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