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- Title
The Influence of Exposure to Natural Disasters on Depression and PTSD Symptoms among Firefighters.
- Authors
Pennington, Michelle L.; Carpenter, Thomas P.; Synett, Samantha J.; Torres, Victoria A.; Teague, Jennifer; Morissette, Sandra B.; Knight, Jeffrey; Kamholz, Barbara W.; Keane, Terence M.; Zimering, Rose T.; Gulliver, Suzy B.
- Abstract
Introduction Firefighters represent an important population for understanding the consequences of exposure to potentially traumatic stressors. Hypothesis/Problem The researchers were interested in the effects of pre-employment disaster exposure on firefighter recruits' depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the first three years of fire service and hypothesized that: (1) disaster-exposed firefighters would have greater depression and PTSD symptoms than non-exposed overall; and (2) depression and PTSD symptoms would worsen over years in fire service in exposed firefighters, but not in their unexposed counterparts.<bold>Methods: </bold>In a baseline interview, 35 male firefighter recruits from seven US cities reported lifetime exposure to natural disaster. These disaster-exposed male firefighter recruits were matched on age, city, and education with non-exposed recruits.<bold>Results: </bold>A generalized linear mixed model revealed a significant exposure×time interaction (e coef =1.04; P<.001), such that depression symptoms increased with time for those with pre-employment disaster exposure only. This pattern persisted after controlling for social support from colleagues (e coefficient=1.05; P<.001), social support from families (e coefficient=1.04; P=.001), and on-the-job trauma exposure (coefficient=0.06; e coefficient=1.11; P<.001). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms did not vary significantly between exposure groups at baseline (P=.61).<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Depression symptoms increased with time for those with pre-employment disaster exposure only, even after controlling for social support. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms did not vary between exposure groups. Pennington ML , Carpenter TP , Synett SJ , Torres VA , Teague J , Morissette SB , Knight J , Kamholz BW , Keane TM , Zimering RT , Gulliver SB . The influence of exposure to natural disasters on depression and PTSD symptoms among firefighters. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(1):102-108.
- Subjects
HEALTH of fire fighters; NATURAL disasters &; psychology; MENTAL depression; POST-traumatic stress disorder; FIRE fighters; PATIENTS; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
California English, 2018, Vol 23, Issue 3, p102
- ISSN
0008-1035
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1017/S1049023X17007026