Association between adverse experiences during Hurricane María and mental and emotional distress among adults in Puerto Rico

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Andrea Lopez-Cepero, Emory University; June H O'Neill, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Abrania Marrero, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Luis M Falcon, University of Massachusetts; Martha Tamez, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; José F Rodríguez-Orengo, FDI Clinical Research of Puerto Rico; Josiemer Mattei, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-09-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-022-02355-2
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGY
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 12
• Start Page: 2423
• End Page: 2432
• Grant/Funding Information: MT received Grant support from the NIH (Grant no. T32-HL098048).; This work was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Grants R01-HL143792 and K01-HL120951), the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (grant R21-MD013650), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Culture of Health Leaders Award).
• Keywords: Hurricane Maria; Depression; Puerto Rico; PTSD; Anxiety
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Nutrition; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the association between adverse experiences during Hurricane María and mental and emotional distress in Puerto Rico. Methods This cross-sectional study used baseline data from adult (30–75 years) participants of the Puerto Rico Observational Study of Psychosocial, Environmental, and Chronic Disease Trends (PROSPECT). Enrolled individuals prior to COVID-19 who completed a 33-item questionnaire on Hurricane María-related experiences (sub-categorized as personal, service, or property losses), depression symptomatology, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety were included for analysis (n = 456). Results Most participants experienced fear for their family's safety, damage to their home and personal items, communication outages, and water shortages. Each additional stressor was significantly associated with higher odds of depression symptoms, PTSD, and anxiety. Personal losses were significantly associated with higher likelihood of all outcomes, while services losses were associated with depression symptoms and anxiety; property loss was not significantly associated with any outcome. Conclusions Adverse experiences during a major natural disaster are associated with mental and emotional distress. Strategies to minimize hardships during natural disasters, especially personal and service losses, are essential to preserve mental health. Post-disaster psychological support to individuals is crucial.