Edward S Peters
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA
Title: Mental health among a cohort of women in coastal Louisiana affected by the deep-water horizon oil spill
Biography
Biography: Edward S Peters
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DHOS) was the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the US petroleum industry, dwarfing all prior oil tanker spills in magnitude and impact on the environment and causing extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats. It contaminated over 1,000 miles of beach and marsh shoreline from Texas to Florida and threatened the viability of the northern Gulf’s commercial fishing and tourism industries. The Women and Their Children’s Health study was established to examine health effects from the DHOS among a cohort of 2800 women and 650 children in Louisiana. Psychological sequelae are among the most pronounced effects in populations following exposure to oil spills. Women in particular represent a vulnerable yet influential population but have remained relatively understudied with respect to the DHOS.
Methodology: A baseline telephone interview in 2012, obtained data on physical/mental health and exposure to the oil spill. A follow-up interview was completed in 2016. Exposure to the DHOS was assessed measuring an individual’s physical and economic experience of the spill. Generalized linear models were fit to estimate the association between DHOS exposure and mental health outcomes among the adult women cross-sectionally at baseline then subsequently over time.
Findings: We observe that this population has experienced numerous traumatic events in their lifetime; further the DHOS exposure is associated with increased severity of depression, stress and PTSD symptoms.
Conclusion & Significance: Although additional work is necessary to disentangle this single event from other natural disasters and traumatic events that have occurred in this population, this technologic disaster has had long-lasting negative effects on the psychological well-being of a vulnerable community. Our findings support the adverse impact of disaster exposures on mental health symptoms in women and identify potential targets for post-disaster mitigation.
Recent Publications (minimum 5)
1. Peters ES, Rung AL, Bronson MH, et al. The Women and Their Children’s Health (WaTCH) study: methods and design of a prospective cohort study in Louisiana to examine the health effects from the BP oil spill. BMJ Open. 2017 Jul 10;7(7):e014887.
2. Gaston SA, Volaufova J, Peters ES, Ferguson TF, Robinson WT, Nugent N, Trapido EJ, Rung AL. Individual-level exposure to disaster, neighborhood environmental characteristics, and their independent and combined associations with depressive symptoms in women. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2017 Jun 27.
3. Rung AL, Gaston S, Robinson WT, Trapido EJ, Peters ES. Untangling the disaster-depression knot: The role of social ties after Deepwater Horizon. Soc Sci Med. 2017 Mar;177:19-26. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.041.
4. Gaston SA, Nugent N, Peters ES, Ferguson TF, Trapido EJ, Robinson WT, Rung AL. Exploring Heterogeneity and Correlates of Depressive Symptoms in the Women and Their Children’s Health (WaTCH) Study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2016.
5. Sullivan SM, Peters ES, Trapido EJ, Oral E, Scribner RA, Rung AL. Assessing mediation of behavioral and stress pathways in the association between neighborhood environments and obesity outcomes. Prev Med Rep. 4:248-55, 2016