The course, trajectories and predictors of depression 23 years after the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia: A prospective cohort study.

There is a scarcity of long-term studies of depression after natural disasters. This prospective epidemiologic study evaluated the course of depression and factors associated with it among survivors 23-years post-earthquake. A geographically stratified subsample of 725 adults exposed to the Spitak earthquake was assessed for depression using DSM-III-R criteria in 1991 and 2012.

25-year follow-up of treated and not-treated adolescents after the Spitak earthquake: course and predictors of PTSD and depression.

Background: There is a paucity of long-term prospective disaster studies of the psychological sequelae among survivors.

Methods: At 1½ and 25 years after the Spitak earthquake, 142 early adolescents from two cities were assessed: Gumri (moderate-severe exposure) and Spitak (very severe exposure). The Gumri group included treated and not-treated subjects, while the Spitak group included not-treated subjects.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 23 Years After the 1988 Spitak Earthquake in Armenia.

This population-based longitudinal study examined the rates and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 725 differentially exposed survivors of the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia, 23 years after the event. Participants had been previously evaluated in 1991. Evaluations included assessment of current PTSD (based on DSM-5 criteria), and a variety of potential risk and protective factors.

Risk factors associated with psychiatric readmission.

The present study focused on identifying risk factors for early readmission of patients discharged from an urban community hospital. Retrospective chart reviews were conducted on 207 consecutive inpatient psychiatric admissions that included patients who were readmitted within 15 days, within 3 to 6 months, and not admitted for at least 12 months post-discharge. Findings indicated that a diagnosis of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (OR = 18; 95% CI 2.

Association of COMT and TPH-2 genes with DSM-5 based PTSD symptoms.

Background: Dopaminergic and serotonergic systems have been implicated in PTSD. The present study evaluated the association of four catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene loci, and the joint effect of COMT and tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2) genes on PTSD symptoms.

Methods: Subjects included 200 Caucasian Armenian adults exposed to the 1988 Spitak earthquake from 12 multigenerational (3-5 generations) families.

Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist and DSM-5 PTSD Symptom Set in a Long-Term Postearthquake Cohort in Armenia.

Psychometric properties of the Armenian-language posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) and the DSM-5 PTSD symptom set were examined in a long-term cohort of earthquake survivors. In 2012, 725 survivors completed the instruments. Item-/scale-level analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed for both scales.

Association of TPH1, TPH2, and 5HTTLPR with PTSD and depressive symptoms.

Objective: To examine the potential contribution of the serotonin hydroxylase (TPH1 and TPH2) genes, and the serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5HTTLPR) to the unique and pleiotropic risk of PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms.

Methods: Participants included 200 adults exposed to the 1988 Spitak earthquake from 12 multigenerational families (3 to 5 generations). Severity of trauma exposure, PTSD, and depressive symptoms were assessed using standard psychometric instruments.

Longitudinal study of PTSD, depression, and quality of life among adolescents after the Parnitha earthquake.

Objective: To investigate the course of PTSD, depression, and current quality of life among adolescents 32-months after the 1999 Parnitha earthquake in Greece.

Methods: The follow-up was conducted among 511 adolescents originally evaluated at 3-months post-earthquake using the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index (PTSD-RI), Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS), and Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOLQ).

Results: Mean PTSD scores for the whole sample had subsided to mild levels; however, 8.

PTSD and dopaminergic genes, DRD2 and DAT, in multigenerational families exposed to the Spitak earthquake.

The objective of this study was to assess the generality of the association of DRD2 and DAT genes and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis/symptom severity. Two hundred ethnic Armenians from 12 multigenerational families exposed to the catastrophic 1988 Spitak earthquake were studied. Common polymorphisms A1/A2 alleles of the DRD2 and '9' repeat allele of DAT gene were genotyped.

Heritabilities of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression in earthquake exposed Armenian families.

Objective: To examine the heritabilities of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and the shared genetic component of these symptoms among family members exposed to the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia.

Methods: Two hundred members of 12 multigenerational families exposed to the Spitak earthquake were studied using a battery that assessed earthquake exposure and symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Heritabilities of these phenotypes were determined using variance component analyses and shared genetic vulnerabilities between these phenotypes were determined using bivariate analyses.

Depression and PTSD symptoms among bereaved adolescents 6(1/2) years after the 1988 Spitak earthquake.

Objective: To compare depression and PTSD symptoms of parentally bereaved adolescents and a comparison group after a catastrophic natural disaster.

Method: Six and a half years after the Spitak earthquake, 48 parentally bereaved adolescents and a comparison group of 44 subjects with no parental loss were evaluated using the Depression Self - Rating Scale (DSRS) and Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI).

Results: Orphans scored significantly higher on depression than those who lost a father (Mean DSRS scores: 20.

A prospective study of posttraumatic stress and depressive reactions among treated and untreated adolescents 5 years after a catastrophic disaster.

Objective: This study evaluated 1) the natural course of posttraumatic stress and depressive reactions among untreated adolescents from two cities in an earthquake zone (Gumri and Spitak) and one at the periphery (Yerevan) who were differentially exposed to the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia and 2) the effectiveness of brief trauma/grief-focused psychotherapy among adolescents from Gumri.

Method: One hundred twenty-five adolescents were assessed with the Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI) and the Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS) at 1.5 and 5 years postearthquake.

Posttraumatic stress and depressive reactions among children and adolescents after the 1999 earthquake in Ano Liosia, Greece.

Objective: This study evaluated the severity of posttraumatic stress and depressive reactions among children and adolescents 3 months after the 1999 earthquake in Ano Liosia, Greece, and additionally assessed the relationship of these reactions to objective and subjective features of earthquake exposure, sex, school level, postearthquake difficulties, death of a family member, and thoughts of revenge.

Method: This school-based study of 1,937 students was conducted in two differentially exposed cities (Ano Liosia, at the epicenter, and Dafni, 10 kilometers from the epicenter) with an earthquake exposure questionnaire, the UCLA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Reaction Index, and the Depression Self-Rating Scale.

Results: Endorsement of earthquake-related exposure items between the two cities was congruent with the extent of earthquake impact in each city.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity among Armenian adolescents with PTSD symptoms.

This study evaluated basal levels and responsiveness to exercise of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), growth hormone (GH) and cortisol among adolescents from two differentially exposed groups 6 1/2 years after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia. Severity of total PTSD and Category C and D symptoms were negatively correlated with baseline cortisol. Preexercise ACTH was significantly lower, and preexercise TSH higher, among adolescents with more exposure.