• AgyapongVincent I OVIODepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.Addiction and Mental Health, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada., Marianne Hrabok, Michal Juhas, Joy Omeje, Edward Denga, Bernard Nwaka, Idowu Akinjise, Sandra E Corbett, Shahram Moosavi, Matthew Brown, Pierre Chue, Andrew J Greenshaw, and Xin-Min Li.
• Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
• Front Psychiatry. 2018 Jan 1; 9: 345.

AbstractThe Fort McMurray wildfire was the costliest disaster in Canadian history, with far-reaching impacts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence and risk factors of elevated generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptomatology in residents of Fort McMurray 6 months after the wildfire. Data were collected via random selection procedures from 486 participants. Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were measured via the GAD-7. The 1-month prevalence rate for GAD symptomatology 6 months after the disaster was 19.8% overall, regression analyses revealed six variables with significant unique contributions to prediction of GAD symptomatology. Significant predictors were: pre-existing anxiety disorder, witnessing of homes being destroyed by the wildfire, living in a different home after the wildfire, receiving limited governmental support or limited family support, and receiving counseling after the wildfire. Participants with these risk factors were between two to nearly seven times more likely to present with GAD symptomatology. In addition, participants who presented with elevated symptomatology were more likely to increase use or problematically use substances post-disaster. This study extends the literature on mental health conditions and risk factors following disasters, specifically in the area of generalized anxiety. Findings and implications are discussed.

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