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The Associations of Various Types of Hurricane-Related Exposures with Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders in Puerto Rico Following Hurricane Maria
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Associations of Various Types of Hurricane-Related Exposures with Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders in Puerto Rico Following Hurricane Maria

Damaris Lopez Mercado, Alexandra C Rivera-González, Katyana M Santiago, Jim P Stimpson, Ligia M Chavez, Brent Langellier, Jonathan Purtle, Mark Stehr, Jan M Eberth, Glorisa Canino, …
Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, v 20, e169
29 Sep 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2026.10438
PMID: 42808582

Abstract

Adult Cyclonic Storms - statistics & numerical data Female Humans Logistic Models Male Mental Disorders - epidemiology Mental Disorders - etiology Mental Disorders - psychology Middle Aged Puerto Rico - epidemiology Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology Substance-Related Disorders - etiology Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
To examine the associations between various hurricane-related exposures and psychiatric and substance use disorders among Puerto Rican adults following Hurricane Maria and to identify disaster-related exposures that may contribute to psychiatric morbidity in hurricane- and typhoon-prone settings. Hurricane-related exposures were grouped into personal, property, utility/resource losses, and unsanitary/hazardous exposures. Logistic regression models were run to examine the associations between the number of hurricane-related exposures and disorders. Each additional hurricane-related exposure was associated with a 1.1 percentage-point increase in the probability of any mood disorder ( < 0.001), a 1.3 percentage-point increase in the probability of any anxiety disorder ( < 0.001), and a 2.0 percentage-point increase in the probability of any disorder ( < 0.001). Each additional utility/resource loss exposure was associated with a 2.3 percentage-point increase in the probability of any anxiety disorder ( = 0.001). Each additional unsanitary/hazardous exposure was associated with a 1.9 percentage-point increase in the probability of any mood disorder ( = 0.017). Findings varied when individual disorders were examined. No associations were found between exposures and substance use disorders. Utility/resource losses and unsanitary/hazardous conditions emerged as important correlates of post-disaster psychiatric disorders, suggesting that these often-overlooked exposures should be incorporated into disaster assessments and recovery planning.

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