Health Problems in Children and Adolescents before and after a Man-Made Disaster

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Vol. 45; no. 1; pp. 94 - 103
• Main Authors: Dirkzwager, Anja J. E, Kerssens, Jan J, Yzermans, C. Joris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.01.2006
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age Factors; At Risk Persons; Child; Comparative Analysis; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Emotional Response; Family Practice - methods; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Foreign Countries; Health Status; Humans; International Classification of Diseases; Male; Mental Health; Netherlands; Physical Health; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Predictor Variables; Prevalence; Psychological Patterns; Psychology; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep; Socioeconomic Influences; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Stress Variables; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Terrorism - psychology; Terrorism - statistics & numerical data; Time Factors; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0890-8567
• DOI: 10.1097/01.chi.0000186402.05465.f7

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine health problems of children (4-12 years old at the time of the disaster) and adolescents (13-18 years old at the time of the disaster) before and after exposure to a fireworks disaster in the Netherlands (May 2000), to compare these health problems with a control group, and to identify risk factors for postdisaster psychological problems. Method: Because the electronic medical records of family practitioners were used, longitudinal monitoring of health problems from 1 year predisaster until 2 years postdisaster for both victims (N = 1,628) and controls (N = 2,856) was possible. Health problems were classified according to the International Classification of Primary Care. Results: Postdisaster increases were significantly larger in victims than in controls for psychological problems, musculoskeletal problems, stress reactions, and symptoms of the extremities. Children 4-12 years old presented larger increases in sleep problems compared with controls, whereas children 13-18 years old showed larger increases in anxiety problems than their controls. Significant predictors for postdisaster psychological problems included being relocated, presenting predisaster psychological problems, and a low to medium socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Children and adolescents exposed to a disaster are at risk of long-lasting increases in both psychological and physical health problems. Postdisaster interventions should focus on those who were relocated and presented predisaster psychological problems. (Contains 3 tables.)