(Press-News.org) GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The psychological effects of the BP oil spill, the largest recorded environmental disaster in human history, extend far beyond people living around the areas of the Gulf of Mexico that were directly impacted by the spill, a new study finds.
Writing in the online edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a publication of the National Institutes of Health, the researchers reported that even in areas that did not have oil exposure, people still experienced elevated levels of anxiety and depression and reduced ability to show resilience in difficult emotional and financial situations because of the disaster.
"The findings highlight the substantial psychological impact that the oil spill has had on coastal communities in Florida and Alabama," said Dr. J. Glenn Morris, a UF public health expert in the department of medicine and director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute. "In particular, the impact was not directly related to the amount of oil that reached an area. Instead, it correlated most closely with financial loss resulting from the spill."
The researchers asked the study participants — mostly men involved in the Gulf fishing industries, or people who had suffered direct financial damages because of the spill-- to answer a range of psychological questions, from how their financial circumstances were affected by the spill to how well they were able to cope in the months following the disaster. Participants were also assessed on cognitive tests to determine dexterity, speed and attention span.
Among people living in Franklin County, where oil had not reached the shore, participants showed similar levels of anxiety, depression, fatigue, anger and overall mood disturbance as the citizens living in Alabama's directly affected communities, especially if the participant's livelihood depended on fishing or had been directly impacted financially by the spill. Since the spill, many buyers have avoided Gulf seafood, despite assurances from the Environmental Protection Agency that seafood is safe to eat. Citizens in both communities are still relying on claim checks from BP, which, say UF researchers, is discouraging some from re-entering the fishing industry.
Study organizers also examined citizens' perceived risk of calamity. For months, the local and national media forewarned the oil would wash up along Franklin County's shoreline. According to the researchers, this generated concerns among many citizens of the county, leading in some instances to anxiety that natural events, such as red tide or protein scum, represented oil sightings. Other residents were convinced that the government was covering up information and that the spill had already reached Franklin County.
"One of the things that caught us by surprise, from the mental health perspective, is that we wouldn't expect to see such a strong peak of mental health issues until about three years after a disaster," said William T. Mahan, a faculty member of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Florida Sea Grant Extension Program and an author on the paper. "Three years is the typical time period for major mood disturbances to manifest."
The paper's authors will continue to monitor domestic violence, substance abuse and long-term rates of stress and depression, all of which are on the rise in both counties. Studies conducted six years after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, which only examined direct exposure to that spill, found that Alaskans exposed to that spill still suffered from mood disturbances significantly correlated with income and resource loss. The researchers are calling for greater longitudinal analysis of the psychological effects of the BP spill, as well as long-term community-academic partnerships in the two counties, where emergency mental health services, they say, are still lacking.
INFORMATION:
Source: J. Glenn Morris, jgmorris@epi.ufl.edu, 352-273-7526
Writer: Claudia Adrien, c.adrien@ufl.edu, 352-846-2573
END
St. Louis, MO, February 18, 2011 – Cancer survivors die of non-cancer-related causes at much higher rates than the general public. In 2008, the U.S. economic burden of cancer totaled over $228 billion but only 41% of these costs involved direct cancer care. The majority of expenses were attributed to increased morbidity, lost productivity, and premature mortality. A commentary published in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association examines the current evidence supporting nutrition recommendations for preventing cancer recurrence and managing ...
Patients with both type 1 diabetes and CKD have an increased risk of adverse outcomes. Despite aggressive treatment, many patients with type 1 diabetes and overt nephropathy develop End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) and/or succumb to a premature death. The competing risks of death and ESRD may confound the estimates of risk for each outcome.
Now, the researchers at the University of Helsinki, University Hospital of Helsinki and Folkhälsan Research Center, Finland, and at the Queen Elisabeth Hospital and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia, have determined ...
Stretching before a run neither prevents nor causes injury, according to a study presented today at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
More than 70 million people worldwide run recreationally or competitively, and recently there has been controversy regarding whether runners should stretch before running, or not at all. This study included 2,729 runners who run 10 or more miles per week. Of these runners, 1,366 were randomized to a stretch group, and 1,363 were randomized to a non-stretch group before running. Runners in the ...
Treating Hip Fractures
Delaying Hip Fracture Surgery Appears Detrimental (Embargo: February 15)
Reduction of wait time encouraged for both economic and humanitarian reasons
Patients who wait more than 36 hours for surgery to correct a hip fracture have a 39 percent rate of medical complication and those who wait 48 hours have a 46 percent complication rate. Patients who receive surgical treatment within 24 hours have a lower complication rate of 25 percent and a shorter hospital stay. Each day the surgery was delayed added an additional two days to hospital stay.
High ...
(If you didn't catch Part 1, please check back to last week's post: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/prompt-proofing-blog-post-goal-setting-part-1-of-4-196406.php.)
This week we're going to think about two more categories: relationships and spirituality.
Both of these categories may have multiple meanings, depending on your situation.
3) Relationships
What do you think of when you read this word? Romantic relationships? With Valentine's Day having just passed, this may well be the first idea that we associate with this word. But there are many kinds ...
Bezeq, the Israeli Telecommunication Corporation, today announced that it has selected Evolven Software, the pioneer of Granular Configuration Automation solutions, with the goal of reducing IT operating expenses, improving system availability & performance, reducing the risk of production outages and cutting incident investigation time for Bezeq's core systems.
Following a rigorous evaluation process, the technology division at Bezeq selected Evolven Software to automate Change & Configuration Control in their most critical IT systems, including billing, CRM and web ...
As capital markets continue to evolve and shift in response to the dynamics of the current global economy, both buyers and sellers in the M&A space are grappling with a new and tougher deal making environment. The faltering banking industry, the failure of seemingly "rock-solid" companies and a steady stream of other negative news in the financial markets have changed the way companies view and take stock of M&A opportunities.
However buyers and sellers can still land winning deals, provided they shop and compete with the understanding that the margin for error is now ...
This prestigious certification is an international accreditation of the company's commitment to quality, developmental standards, delivery models and competency levels.
Compatibility Maturity Model Integration is now the prevalent standard for assessing the competence of a company in employing process based methodologies to software development. It is a process improvement approach that renders an organization the important elements for effective processes. CMMI certification from Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute is awarded only to companies with ...
Thousands of buyers still risk their money by purchasing property abroad without taking on specialist legal advice. Without knowledge of local laws, procedures and processes, this is one of the strangest and riskiest phenomena in the world of overseas property....
The overseas property market remains a hugely popular asset class for investors and end users alike and a key consideration when investing in property abroad is seeking the proper legal advice before purchase. But also, if the unthinkable should happen, being able to recover any funds potentially placed at ...
Tour operator Escaped to Peru have recently experienced an increase in interest for archaeological tours in the north of Peru.
"We noticed that more people were asking for quotes on tours to the north of the country," said Escaped To Peru's Managing Director Gary Sargent, "The vast majority of people usually want to do the archaeological circuit in the south of the country that includes Machu Picchu."
The team at Escaped To Peru attribute this increase to the discovery of a 1200-year-old tomb in the Lambayeque region. Publicity surrounding the archaeological dig has ...
