Psychological distress 35 years after the Chornobyl accident in the Lithuanian clean-up workers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19529793 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Evaldas Kazlauskas (0000-0002-6654-6220, Vilnius University, corresponding author), Giedrė Smailytė (0000-0001-8365-543X, Vilnius University), Ingrida Domarkienė (0000-0002-2088-8620, Vilnius University), Vaidutis Kučinskas (0000-0001-6433-7305, Vilnius University), Aušra Matulevičienė (0000-0002-1536-5673, Vilnius University), Ask Elklit (0000-0002-8469-7372, University of Southern Denmark), Gabrielė Žukauskaitė (0000-0003-1726-5825, Vilnius University), Laima Ambrozaitytė (0000-0001-5631-7005, Vilnius University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 2233843-2233843 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-31 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Health Action (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1654-9716 • E-ISSN: 1654-9880 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/16549716.2023.2233843 |
| PMID | 37459245 |
| OpenAlex | W4384522082 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
The adverse effects on the health of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident clean-up workers have been reported previously. However, there is a lack of studies on the mental health of Chornobyl clean-up workers. The current study explored psychological distress in a sample of Lithuanian clean-up workers 35 years after the accident. In total, 107 Lithuanian Chornobyl clean-up workers (Mage = 62.5) and 107 controls were included in the study. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) was used for the assessment of anxiety and depression. The depression symptoms were significantly higher in the clean-up workers compared to the control group. The prevalence of severe depression symptoms was 23.4% and 4.7% in the Chornobyl clean-up workers and control groups, respectively. The risk for severe depression was associated with Chornobyl clean-up work (adjusted OR = 5.9). No differences in the anxiety symptoms were found between clean-up workers and controls. The study revealed the deteriorated mental health of the Lithuanian Chornobyl clean-up workers 35 years after the disaster – in particular, high levels of depression. Psychosocial support programmes for clean-up workers should be provided to mitigate the adverse effects of the disaster
Distress · Environmental health · Lithuanian · Mental health · Psychiatry · Psychological distress · Clinical Psychology · Effects of Radiation Exposure · Medicine · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Radiation Dose and Imaging
| Highly cited | No |
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