TY - JOUR
T1 - Posttraumatic stress disorder in Manhattan, New York City, after the September 11th terrorist attacks
AU - Galea, Sandro
AU - Resnick, Heidi
AU - Ahern, Jennifer
AU - Gold, Joel
AU - Bucuvalas, Michael
AU - Kilpatrick, Dean
AU - Stuber, Jennifer
AU - Vlahov, David
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grants from the United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust (The September 11th Fund) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health (R01 DA14219-01S1).
PY - 2002/9
Y1 - 2002/9
N2 - Estimates of acute mental health symptoms in the general population after disasters are scarce. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in residents of Manhattan 5-8 weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We used random-digit dialing to contact a representative sample of adults living in Manhattan below 110th Street. Participants were interviewed about prior life events, personal characteristics, exposure to the events of September 11th, and psychological symptoms after the attack. Among 988 eligible adults, 19.3% reported symptoms consistent with PTSD at some point in their life, and 8.8% reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of current (within the past 30 days) PTSD. Overall, 57.8% of respondents reported at least one PTSD symptom in the past month. The most common past-month symptoms were intrusive memories (27.4%) and insomnia (24.5%). Predictors of current PTSD in a multivariable model were residence below Canal Street, low social support, life stressors 12 months prior to September 11th, perievent panic attack, losing possessions in the attacks, and involvement in the rescue efforts. These findings can help guide resource planning for future disasters in densely populated urban areas.
AB - Estimates of acute mental health symptoms in the general population after disasters are scarce. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in residents of Manhattan 5-8 weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We used random-digit dialing to contact a representative sample of adults living in Manhattan below 110th Street. Participants were interviewed about prior life events, personal characteristics, exposure to the events of September 11th, and psychological symptoms after the attack. Among 988 eligible adults, 19.3% reported symptoms consistent with PTSD at some point in their life, and 8.8% reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of current (within the past 30 days) PTSD. Overall, 57.8% of respondents reported at least one PTSD symptom in the past month. The most common past-month symptoms were intrusive memories (27.4%) and insomnia (24.5%). Predictors of current PTSD in a multivariable model were residence below Canal Street, low social support, life stressors 12 months prior to September 11th, perievent panic attack, losing possessions in the attacks, and involvement in the rescue efforts. These findings can help guide resource planning for future disasters in densely populated urban areas.
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U2 - 10.1093/jurban/79.3.340
DO - 10.1093/jurban/79.3.340
M3 - Article
C2 - 12200503
AN - SCOPUS:0036714209
VL - 79
SP - 340
EP - 353
JO - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
JF - Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
SN - 1099-3460
IS - 3
ER -