Association Between Earthquake Exposures and Mental Health Outcomes in Phulpingdanda Village After the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes.

In 2015, two strong earthquakes, as well as continuous, high magnitude aftershocks, struck Nepal. Phulpingdanda village was greatly impacted due to its lack of infrastructure and environmental remoteness. Adults from sampled households were surveyed 1-year later to examine the association between earthquake exposures and indicators of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and resilience. Results showed 33% of surveyed residents screened positive for depression, 9% screened positive for severe PTSD, and 46% displayed moderate to high resilience. Additionally, participants experienced resource loss (100%), damaged home and goods (99%), and exposure to the grotesque (82%). Traumatic earthquake experiences related to personal harm were associated with symptoms of depression and PTSD and resource loss was associated with depressive symptoms. Earthquake experiences associated with less damage to home and goods, but greater exposure to the grotesque were associated with increased resilience. This research adds to our knowledge of the relationship between traumatic exposures and indicators of psychological distress and resilience following a disaster.

Earthquake exposures and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents from Phulpingdanda village, Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Mental health issues can reach epidemic proportions in developed countries after natural disasters, but research is needed to better understand the impact on children and adolescents in developing nations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed to examine the relationship between earthquake exposures and depression, PTSD, and resilience among children and adolescents in Phulpingdanda village in Nepal, 1 year after the 2015 earthquakes, using the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, Child PTSD Symptom Scale, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, respectively. To quantify exposure, a basic demographic and household questionnaire, including an earthquake exposure assessment tool for children and adolescents, was created. RESULTS: Of the 62 respondents interviewed, 3.23% and 4.84% displayed symptomatology of depression and PTSD. A large number of respondents interviewed scored high for resiliency (80.65%). All 62 respondents were displaced from their household and witnessed severe damage of both their homes and village. The number of earthquake exposures had a strong, positive correlation with PTSD symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of respondents who showed signs of depression and PTSD symptomatology was lower than anticipated, resilience scores were considerably higher. Future research should explore which protective factors may contribute to high resiliency in Nepali children and adolescents.

Assessing Alzheimer's disease patients with the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory: scoring and clinical implications.

We explored the applicability of the standard scoring of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), a widely used nursing-home derived instrument, to community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Item responses to the CMAI were gathered from participants in two large clinical studies, one of which specifically included patients with behavioral disturbances. Confirmatory factor analysis in these two groups of well-characterized AD patients suggested that conventional CMAI subscoring did not adequately describe the responses of these two groups. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the four CMAI subscores, based on a verbal-physical and aggressive-non-aggressive conceptualization of behavioral disturbance, did not fit community dwelling persons with AD. Based on cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, there was suggestive evidence for three behavioral clusters, but these clusters did not achieve statistical significance Overall, the CMAI seemed best suited to describe the overall level rather than the specific subtypes of behavioral dyscontrol in community-dwelling persons with AD.