Assessing Prevalence of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Following the 2015 Earthquake in Langtang ,Nepal

Abstract

Aims

Among the consequences of natural disasters, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been one of the most prevalent mental health issue. Nepal has been categorized as a region prone to natural disasters including earthquakes and avalanches. However, mental health implications of such disasters have been rarely explored in Nepal especially in remote regions like Langtang.In this research, we have estimated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) among the survivors 7 years after the mega earthquake and avalanche in 2015 in rural mountainous region of Langtang in Nepal. We also explored the association between sociodemographic parameters and PTSD scores.

Methods

A Cross sectional quantitative observational study was carried out in 2022. Study population included the residents of Langtang who are the survivors of 2015 earthquake. Simple random sampling was done and participants aged 18 years and above who consented to the study were included. Sociodemographic details were assessed using a predesigned structured questionnaire and PTSD symptoms were measured using the Nepali version of PTSD Symptom Checklist 5 (PCL 5). PCL-5 scores of >31 was used as cutoff for presence of PTSD. Data were analysed using SPSS software.

Results

A total of 124 participants were included in the study. PTSD symptoms score were above the cut off in 7.3% . Most respondents were males (60.5%), young adults aged 18–30 years (36.3%), with no formal education (53.2%), with at least loss of one family member (66.1), and majority rescued after a week(42.7%). Sociodemographic variables such as age group, education, occupation, location during the incident, rescue time and substance use were significantly associated with the PTSD scores. Middle aged respondents were observed to have significantly high PTSD scores followed by older age group(p = 0.04). Similarly, PTSD scores were significantly higher among the respondents with no formal education and who had agriculture/tourism as their main occupation(p = 0.02). Likewise, respondents who were in Langtang during the incident were found to have significantly higher scores(p < 0.001). Interestingly, PTSD scores were found higher among those respondents who were rescued within a week from the time of incident as compared to individuals who were rescued after a week(p < 0.001). Also, PTSD scores were higher among the respondents who consumed any type of substance(p = 0.002).

Conclusion

PTSD was prevalent even 7 years after the incident in the Langtang community. Certain sociodemographic parameters were identified to be associated with increased PTSD symptoms.