Post-traumatic stress disorder among people exposed to the Ventotene street disaster in Rome.

Objective: To test five hypotheses on Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): 1) Is PTSD the most prevalent disorder after trauma? 2) Is the proximity to the disaster related to the risk of PTSD? 3) Is PTSD associated with child mourning or separation, previous stress, or familiarity for psychiatric disorders? 4) Does the exposition to trauma increase substance abuse or somatization? 5) Can episodic trauma cause long-lasting psychiatric morbidity?

Methods: Clinical assessment of subjects exposed to an explosion in a building caused by a gas-leak. Best estimate clinical diagnoses were made according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. The Zung Depression Rating Scale, the Zung Anxiety Rating Scale, and the Clinician Administered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale were used in the clinical assessment.