151743 Alcohol use among health care workers exposed to a SARS outbreak

Monday, November 5, 2007

Ping Wu, PhD , Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY
Yunyun Fang, BS , Department of Health Administration, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
Bin Fan, MD , Child Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY
Zhiqiang Guan, MD , National Institute for Social Insurance, Beijing, China
Zhongling Yao, MD , Peking University First School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
Junhui Kong, MD , Department of Health Administration, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
Cordelia J. Fuller, MS , Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY
Xinhua Liu, PhD , Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, New York, NY
Jin Lu, MBA , Peking University First School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
Qun Wang, MS , Peking University First School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing, China
Objectives: To examine alcohol abuse/dependence among health care workers (HCWs) who were exposed to an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and to examine different types of exposure to the SARS outbreak in relation to alcohol abuse/dependence.

Methods: Analyses were based on a survey conducted among 549 randomly selected HCWs in Beijing, China, regarding the psychological impact of the 2003 outbreak. Subjects were assessed on types of exposure to the outbreak, PTSD symptoms, alcohol abuse/dependence, and socio-demographic factors.

Results: Controlling for socio-demographic factors, alcohol abuse/dependence symptom counts in the year prior to the interview were positively related to having been quarantined, or having worked in high risk locations such as SARS wards, fever clinics or an Emergency Room during the outbreak. However, having family members or friends or close acquaintances who contracted SARS was not related to elevated alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms. Prior exposure to traumatic events also significantly contributed to alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms. Even when the probable PTSD was controlled in the model, the relationship between exposure to SARS outbreak and alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms remained the same.

Conclusion: The observed relationship between exposure to the outbreak and elevated alcohol abuse/dependence indicates that exposure to an outbreak of a severe infectious disease can, like other traumatic experiences, lead not only to PTSD but also to other psychiatric conditions, such as alcohol abuse/dependence. The findings will help policy makers and health professionals to better prepare for potential outbreaks of diseases such as SARS or Avian Flu.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify several of the types of potentially traumatic event exposure which many health care workers (HCWs) experienced in Beijing during the 2003 SARS outbreak. 2. Identify socio-demographic factors which may affect the relationship between exposure to an oubreak of infectious disease and subsequent alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms among HCWs. 3. Assess the relationship between PTSD symptoms and alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms among individuals affected by an infectious disease outbreak.

Keywords: Alcohol Problems, Infectious Diseases

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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