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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 7, Issue 5 (Suppl)
Epidemiology (Sunnyvale), an open access journal
ISSN: 2161-1165
Epidemiology 2017
October 23-25, 2017
EPIDEMIOLOGY & PUBLIC HEALTH
October 23-25, 2017 | Paris, France
6
th
International Conference on
MENTAL HEALTH AMONG A COHORT OFWOMEN IN COASTAL LOUISIANAAFFECTED
BY THE DEEP-WATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
Edward S Peters
a
a
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, USA
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.
Biography
Edward S Peters is Professor and Chair of the LSU School of Public Health’s Epidemiology Program and Director of the School’s Epidemiology Data Center. His
research interests focus on using classic and molecular epidemiologic tools to examine molecular and biologic heterogeneity and susceptibility of chronic diseases.
More recently this research has begun including aspects of social epidemiology to examine how the effects of social determinants of health influence disparate
disease outcomes through a transdisciplinary perspective. He is the Co-PI of the Women’s and Their Children’s Health Study that was established to examine
the health effects from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. He has active research projects in oral, ovarian, and prostate cancer. In addition, through his work in the
Louisiana Tumour Registry he works on efforts to improve cancer surveillance for HPV related cancers, bioinformatics and molecular pathology.
epete1@lsuhsc.eduEdward S Peters, Epidemiology (Sunnyvale) 2017, 7:5(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2161-1165-C1-017