ArticleBMC public health2022
Mental health effects of the Gangwon wildfires.
Article in BMC public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Mental Health Impacts of Wildfire Exposure: A Scoping Review of the Quantitative Evidence.Current environmental health reports · 2026Article
- Mental Health Outcomes After the Acute Phase of COVID-19: Factors Identified in a Korean Public Mental Health Service.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Article
- The Effect of Wildfire Exposure: Neurological Outcomes, Mental Health, and Epigenetic Insights.Genes · 2026Review
- Review
- Intra-Continental Transport of Western Wildfire Smoke Heightens Health Risks Across North America.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- A qualitative study of conflict experiences of Chinese physicians and nurses experiencing death of relatives: effects of dual roles.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- 2023 Wildfires in Canada: Living in Wildfire Regions in Alberta and Nova Scotia Doubled the Odds for Residents to Experience Likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Wildfires are associated with increased emergency department visits for anxiety disorders in the western United States.Nature. Mental health · 2024Article
- Mitigating Psychological Problems Associated with the 2023 Wildfires in Alberta and Nova Scotia: Six-Week Outcomes from the Text4Hope Program.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Environmental pollution and extreme weather conditions: insights into the effect on mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Differences in Anxiety, Insomnia, and Trauma Symptoms in Wildfire Survivors from Australia, Canada, and the United States of America.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Biomass smoke inhalation promotes neuroinflammatory and metabolomic temporal changes in the hippocampus of female mice.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- The positive effects of time spent in nature on stress: considering climate change.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Article
- Neuroinflammatory and Metabolomic Temporal Dynamics Following Wood Smoke Inhalation.Research square · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe April 2019 wildfires in Gangwon Province, South Korea forced the evacuation of 1500 individuals and cost more than $100 million in damages, making it the worst wildfire disaster in Korean history. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the mental health effects on survivors following the wildfires.
methodsBetween April and May 2019, outreach psychological support services were delivered to people impacted by the wildfires. Post-disaster psychological responses using a checklist and the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Severity (CGI-S) were evaluated for 206 wildfires survivors. The CGI-S was administered consequently at 1, 3, and 6 months after baseline measurement.
resultsAmong four response categories, somatic responses (76.2%) were most frequently observed among the wildfire survivors. Specifically, insomnia (59.2%), anxiety (50%), chest tightness (34%), grief (33%), flashbacks (33%), and depression (32.5%) were reported by over 30% of the participants. The mean CGI-S scores were significantly decreased at 1 month (mean score = 1.94; SE = 0.09) compared to baseline (mean score = 2.94; SE = 0.08) and remained at the decreased level until 6 months (mean score = 1.66; SE = 0.11). However, participants with flashbacks showed significantly higher CGI-S scores compared to those without flashback at 6 months.
conclusionsWildfire survivors have various post-disaster responses, especially somatic responses. While most participants' mental health improved over time, a few of them may have experienced prolonged psychological distress after 6 months. Flashbacks were particularly associated with continuing distress. These results suggest that the characteristics of responses should be considered in early phase intervention and in follow-up plans for disaster survivors.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.