Anticipatory anxiety before the 2024 Dana cyclone in Odisha and subsequent mental health morbidity: A study of preparedness, perceived stress, and risk factors

Background Information about oncoming extreme weather events is available days in advance to support preparedness. There is hardly any information comparing the stress perception and anticipatory anxiety during the pre- and post-disaster phases and their link to psychiatric morbidities. Objective The aim was to assess pre-cyclone anxiety and preparedness for the 2024 Dana cyclone, along with post-cyclone anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress, and the associated factors. Method It was a two-stage population survey conducted during pre- and post-cyclone periods. The perceived severity, experience of stress, concern, and impact of the cyclone were studied, along with sociodemographic factors. Anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress were screened using the General Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2), Patient Health Questionnaire, 2-item (PHQ-2), and Primary Care PTSD screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5). Results Pre-cyclone clinical level anxiety was present in 17.3 % (95 % Confidence Interval: 14.3–20.7), post-cyclone anxiety in 14.5 % (6.9–25.8), depression in 12.9 % (5.7–23.9), and PTSD in 17.7 % (9.2–29.5). In total, 24.2 % (14.2–36.7) had post-cyclone psychiatric morbidity, and the majority (60.0 %) of them had comorbidity. Common posttraumatic stress symptoms included feeling constantly on guard, trying hard not to think about the cyclone, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance. Among various risk factors identified for psychiatric morbidities, the most consistent factors were rural background, low socioeconomic status, evacuation, perceiving the cyclone as extremely severe, and being stressed just before, during, and after the cyclone. Conclusion Even following a comparatively low-intensity cyclone, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress were observed at higher rates than those of the general population. Besides the low intensity, better preparedness might have helped decrease the mental health consequences.

Citation

Kar, N. and Kar, B. (2025) Anticipatory anxiety before the 2024 Dana cyclone in Odisha and subsequent mental health morbidity: A study of preparedness, perceived stress, and risk factors. Geopsychiatry, 2, 100030.

Type

Journal article

Language

en

Description

© 2025 The Authors, published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geopsy.2025.100030

ISSN

3050-7138

Collections

Faculty of Science and Engineering