Risk of depressive disorder following disasters and military deployment: systematic review with meta-analysis
Open accessAbstract
Background: Numerous studies describe the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters, but less is known about the risk of major depression. Aims: To review the risk of depressive disorder in people surviving disasters and in soldiers returning from military deployment. Method: A systematic literature search combined with reference screening identified 23 controlled epidemiological studies. We used random effects models to compute pooled odds ratios (ORs). Results: The average OR was significantly elevated following all types of exposures: natural disaster OR = 2.28 (95% CI 1.30–3.98), technological disaster OR = 1.44 (95% CI 1.21–1.70), terrorist acts OR = 1.80 (95% CI 1.38–2.34) and military combat OR = 1.60 (95% CI 1.09–2.35). In a subset of ten high-quality studies OR was 1.41 (95% CI 1.06–1.87). Conclusions: Disasters and combat experience substantially increase the risk of depression. Whether psychological trauma per se or bereavement is on the causal path is unresolved.
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Exposure to potentially traumatic events is associated with increased risk for developing mental disorders, including PTSD, MDD, PD, GAD, SAD, and AUD.
“Such exposures have been associated with increased risk for the development of mental disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),2 major depressive disorder (MDD),5 panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD), as well as vulnerability for an alcohol use disorder (AUD).6,7”
From Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada (2018) · cites this paper as [5]
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- Authors
- Bonde, J. P., Utzon-Frank, N., Bertelsen, M., Borritz, M., Eller, N. H., Nordentoft, M., Olesen, K., Rod, N. H., & Rugulies, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Corresponding author
- Bonde, J. P.
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2016-04
- Volume
- 208
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 330-336
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2299625574
- Cited by
- 139
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 2.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Keywords
- depressive disorders, major depressive disorder, disasters, natural disasters, technological disasters, terrorist attacks, military deployment, combat exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder, bereavement, psychological trauma, risk factors
- MeSH terms
- War Exposure, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Disasters, Humans, Military Personnel, Risk Factors
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