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The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on March 8, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health 2005 15(2):170-174; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki126
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Public Mental Health

Disaster and associated changes in physical and mental health in older residents

Dorly J.H. Deeg1,2, Anja C. Huizink1, Hannie C. Comijs2 and Tjabe Smid1

1 Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2 Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Correspondence: Prof. Dr D.J.H. Deeg, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine/LASA, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands, tel. +31 20 444 6767, fax +31 20 444 6775, Email: djh.deeg{at}vumc.nl

Background: Long-term health consequences of disasters have not been studied extensively, one reason amongst others is that no pre-disaster observation is available. This study focuses on an aeroplane crash on an Amsterdam suburb. The ongoing Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam has one pre-disaster and several post-disaster observations, making it possible to study changes in health, taking pre-disaster health characteristics into account. Methods: Three exposure groups are distinguished: those living within a radius of 1 km from the disaster (initial n=39), those living between a radius of 1 and 2 km from the disaster (initial n=56), and those living in the rest of the city of Amsterdam (initial n=508). Health measures include general health, health in comparison with age peers, functional limitations, disability and cognitive functioning. These measures are based on self-ratings, interviewer observations, or both. Results: Older persons living closest to the disaster area are likely to experience health decline in the wake of a disaster, over and above the health decline that would occur normally with aging. The disaster-associated health decline is small, and most obvious in the ability to perform actions (such as mobility), but is not observed in either disability in daily functioning, nor in self-perceptions of health. Cognitive functioning even shows a short-term improvement. Conclusion: These findings suggest substantial resilience in older adults, despite their common health problems.

Keywords: disaster, pre-post observation, health changes, older persons


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