Post-Traumatic and psychiatric symptoms among young earthquake survivors in primary care camp hospital

"Earthquakes have been found to be associated with increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders:. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with a diagnosis range of 1.5%-74%, depression, anxiety and. sleep disorders and substance abuse. Risk factors are varied: exposure to the earthquake, closeness to. the epicenter, disruption of social network, financial loss, female sex, low educational level, etc PTSD. diagnosis is difficult because people unconsciously neglect traumatic history and ignore consequences.. Between April 6th 2009 and September 2009, 323 young survivors aged between 18 and 30 years were. screened for PTSD symptoms at the S.M.I.L.E., a psychiatric service for young people at the L’Aquila. Camp Hospital. "