Prevalence of Depression and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Flint, Michigan, 5 Years After the Onset of the Water Crisis

• NCJ Number: 305236
• Journal: JAMA Network Open Volume: 5 Issue: 9 Dated: 2022 Pages: e2232556
• Author(s): Aaron Reuben; Angela Moreland; Salma M. Abdalla
• Date Published: September 2022
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2017-MU-GX-K144
• Agencies: OVC-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Mass Violence Resource Center

Annotation

This study examined the long-term psychiatric outcomes of environmental disasters, such as the Flint water crisis.

Abstract

In this cross-sectional household probability sample survey of 1,970 adults living in Flint, Michigan, during the water crisis, more than one-fifth met criteria for presumptive past-year depression, nearly one-quarter for past-year presumptive posttraumatic stress disorder, and more than one-tenth for both disorders 5 years after the onset of the water crisis. Only 34.8% were ever offered mental health services to assist with water-crisis–related psychiatric symptoms; most (79.3%) who were offered services utilized them. These findings suggest that public-works environmental disasters such as the Flint water crisis have lasting psychological sequelae and may require expanded mental health services to meet long-term psychiatric need. (Publisher abstract provided)