Severe mental illness in Gulf Coast doubled after Katrina

Aug 30 2006

The rate of severe mental illness in the Gulf Coast region about doubled in the six months after Hurricane Katrina, according to a report surveying a sample of the storm's survivors published on Monday in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, USA Today reports (Sternberg, USA Today, 8/29).

For the report, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, Harvard Medical School Psychologist Ronald Kessler and colleagues surveyed 1,043 households randomly selected from the 1.4 million families that sought assistance from the American Red Cross after the storm, from random-digit dialing of telephone numbers throughout the Gulf Coast region, and by calling a random selection of motels where Katrina survivors are housed (Brown, Washington Post, 8/29).

Researchers compared Katrina survivors' responses with a separate national mental health survey conducted between 2001 and 2003 that included 820 residents of the Gulf Coast, the region most affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Approximately 11% of respondents to the 2006 survey reported severe mental illnesses, compared with 6% of respondents to the earlier survey.

In addition, nearly 20% of 2006 respondents said they have mild to moderate mental illnesses, compared with less than 10% of respondents before Katrina (USA Today, 8/28).

Although the suicide rate among Katrina survivors is unknown, the percentage of respondents who reported contemplating suicide remained under 3% in both surveys, the Post reports.

Researchers found a "pervasive optimism" among Katrina survivors about their ability to rebuild their lives, and the emotional resilience of low-income blacks -- who experienced some of the greatest effects of the storm -- was as high and in some cases higher than in the survivor population group overall, according to the Post.

Some Concerns

However, researchers are uncertain how long Katrina survivors' "generally encouraging psychological state" will last, the Post reports. Kessler said, "Optimism only lasts so long," adding, "We know from survivors of other hurricanes that after about 18 months people start to wear out." Respondents in the "Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group" agreed to be reinterviewed every six months for two years to provide feedback to assistance agencies and government departments (Washington Post, 8/29).

The report is available online. Note: You must have Adobe Reader to view the report. Samples of respondents' oral narratives are available online in Windows Media.

Broadcast Coverage

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Tuesday reported on the study. The segment includes comments from Jim Barbe, a psychiatrist in New Orleans; Kessler; and residents of the region (Coukell, "Morning Edition," NPR, 8/29).

NPR coverage -- which includes additional comments from Evelyn Bromet, a professor of psychiatry at State University of New York-Stony Brook; Matt Friedman, director of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Anthony Speier, director of disaster mental health operations at the Louisiana Office of Mental Health -- is available online. The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.