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Axinn WG, Bruffaerts R, Kessler TL, Frounfelker R, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Bunting B, Caldas-de-Almeida JM, Cardoso G, Chardoul S, Chiu WT, Cía A, Gureje O, Karam EG, Kovess-Masfety V, Petukhova MV, Piazza M, Posada-Villa J, Sampson NA, Scott KM, Stagnaro JC, Stein DJ, Torres Y, Williams DR, Kessler RC. Findings From the World Mental Health Surveys of Civil Violence Exposure and Its Association With Subsequent Onset and Persistence of Mental Disorders. JAMA Netw Open 2023; 6:e2318919. [PMID: 37338903 PMCID: PMC10282884 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.18919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Importance Understanding the association of civil violence with mental disorders is important for developing effective postconflict recovery policies. Objective To estimate the association between exposure to civil violence and the subsequent onset and persistence of common mental disorders (in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition [DSM-IV]) in representative surveys of civilians from countries that have experienced civil violence since World War II. Design, Setting, and Participants This study used data from cross-sectional World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) surveys administered to households between February 5, 2001, and January 5, 2022, in 7 countries that experienced periods of civil violence after World War II (Argentina, Colombia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Peru, and South Africa). Data from respondents in other WMH surveys who immigrated from countries with civil violence in Africa and Latin America were also included. Representative samples comprised adults (aged ≥18 years) from eligible countries. Data analysis was performed from February 10 to 13, 2023. Exposures Exposure was defined as a self-report of having been a civilian in a war zone or region of terror. Related stressors (being displaced, witnessing atrocities, or being a combatant) were also assessed. Exposures occurred a median of 21 (IQR, 12-30) years before the interview. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was the retrospectively reported lifetime prevalence and 12-month persistence (estimated by calculating 12-month prevalence among lifetime cases) of DSM-IV anxiety, mood, and externalizing (alcohol use, illicit drug use, or intermittent explosive) disorders. Results This study included 18 212 respondents from 7 countries. Of these individuals, 2096 reported that they were exposed to civil violence (56.5% were men; median age, 40 [IQR, 30-52] years) and 16 116 were not exposed (45.2% were men; median age, 35 [IQR, 26-48] years). Respondents who reported being exposed to civil violence had a significantly elevated onset risk of anxiety (risk ratio [RR], 1.8 [95% CI, 1.5-2.1]), mood (RR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.3-1.7]), and externalizing (RR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.3-1.9]) disorders. Combatants additionally had a significantly elevated onset risk of anxiety disorders (RR, 2.0 [95% CI, 1.3-3.1]) and refugees had an increased onset risk of mood (RR, 1.5 [95% CI, 1.1-2.0]) and externalizing (RR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.0-2.4]) disorders. Elevated disorder onset risks persisted for more than 2 decades if conflicts persisted but not after either termination of hostilities or emigration. Persistence (ie, 12-month prevalence among respondents with lifetime prevalence of the disorder), in comparison, was generally not associated with exposure. Conclusions In this survey study of exposure to civil violence, exposure was associated with an elevated risk of mental disorders among civilians for many years after initial exposure. These findings suggest that policy makers should recognize these associations when projecting future mental disorder treatment needs in countries experiencing civil violence and among affected migrants.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ronny Bruffaerts
- Universitair Psychiatrisch Centrum–Katholieke Universiteit, Campus Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Timothy L. Kessler
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Rochelle Frounfelker
- Department of Community and Population Health, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
| | - Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola
- Center for Reducing Health Disparities, University of California, Davis Health System, Sacramento
| | - Jordi Alonso
- Health Services Research Group, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Epidemiology and Public Health, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Brendan Bunting
- School of Psychology, Ulster University, Londonderry, United Kingdom
| | - José Miguel Caldas-de-Almeida
- Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health and Comprehensive Health Research Centre, NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Graça Cardoso
- Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health and Comprehensive Health Research Centre, NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Wai Tat Chiu
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Alfredo Cía
- Anxiety Disorders Research Center, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Oye Gureje
- Department of Psychiatry, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria
| | - Elie G. Karam
- Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Saint George Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Balamand, Beirut, Lebanon
- Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy and Applied Care, Beirut, Lebanon
| | | | - Maria V. Petukhova
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Marina Piazza
- Instituto Nacional de Salud, Universidad Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
| | - José Posada-Villa
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca University, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Nancy A. Sampson
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Kate M. Scott
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Juan Carlos Stagnaro
- Departamento de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dan J. Stein
- South African Medical Council Research Unit on Risk and Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Yolanda Torres
- Center for Excellence on Research in Mental Health, CES University, Medellín, Colombia
| | - David R. Williams
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Ronald C. Kessler
- Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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