Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and traumatic stress 8 months after the flood in the Czech Republic in 2002. Study group (N=71) were people directly affected by the flood in the Prague city quarter Karlín.
Control subjects (N=67) were people not affected by the flood, matched on sex, age and urban area. From the total study sample of 71, 59 people have been evacuated and 56 have reported a property loss or damage.
Eight study subjects suffered from PTSD; in 2 of them it was attributed to the flood. There were 3 diagnoses of PTSD in the control group; none of them was attributable to flood.
This between the groups difference was not statistically significant (Pearson's ci square=2.52; p=0.28). Statistically significant difference in the measures of traumatic stress was found in the Impact of Event Scale-revised (IES-R): study subjects scored higher (p<0.000).
A subgroup of the study sample with a higher stress level (scores above median in the IES-R), as compared to the subjects with a lower stress level, reported prolonged duration of evacuation (64 vs. 34 days respectively, p=0.03), lower income before the flood (p=0.02) and more frequently rated the flood as their worst life experience (p=0.02). Although the number of PTSD among people affected by the flood did not differ from the control group, there was a higher level of traumatic stress in the study sample.
This finding indicates a long-term persisting psychological impact of the flood. The authors suggest that a prospective follow-up may be needed.
Future research should also focus on the coping with traumatic stress, morbidity rates and impact of the traumatic event on the general health as well, not just emotional and psychiatric impairments