Abstract:
Background—Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following natural and human-
made disasters has been undertaken for more than three decades. Although PTSD prevalence
estimates vary widely, most are in the 20–40% range in disaster-focused studies but considerably
lower (3–5%) in the few general population epidemiological surveys that evaluated disaster-related
PTSD as part of a broader clinical assessment. The World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys provide
an opportunity to examine disaster-related PTSD in representative general population surveys
across a much wider range of sites than in previous studies.
Method—Although disaster-related PTSD was evaluated in 18 WMH surveys, only six in high-
income countries had enough respondents for a risk factor analysis. Predictors considered were
socio-demographics, disaster characteristics, and pre-disaster vulnerability factors (childhood
family adversities, prior traumatic experiences, and prior mental disorders).
Results—Disaster-related PTSD prevalence was 0.0–3.8% among adult (ages 18+) WMH
respondents and was significantly related to high education, serious injury or death of someone
close, forced displacement from home, and pre-existing vulnerabilities (prior childhood family
adversities, other traumas, and mental disorders). Of PTSD cases 44.5% were among the 5% of
respondents classified by the model as having highest PTSD risk.
Conclusion—Disaster-related PTSD is uncommon in high-income WMH countries. Risk factors
are consistent with prior research: severity of exposure, history of prior stress exposure, and pre-
existing mental disorders. The high concentration of PTSD among respondents with high
predicted risk in our model supports the focus of screening assessments that identify disaster
survivors most in need of preventive interventions.
