Pre-existing depression, anxiety and trauma as risk factors for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following wildfires

The trauma of wildfires leads to one of the most challenging and treatment resistant mental health conditions-namely-post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research addressing the contribution of pre-existing mental health conditions to the development of PTSD symptoms following traumatization by wildfires is limited. This study examined whether people with pre-existing diagnoses of anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia and nightmares, by a mental health professional, are more likely to develop symptoms of PTSD than those with no previous diagnosis following the trauma of wildfires. A total of 126 wildfire survivors from Australia, Canada and the United States of America completed an online survey. An independent sample t-tests revealed that pre-existing diagnosed conditions of depression, an anxiety disorder and PTSD significantly increased the likelihood of developing PTSD symptoms following traumatization by wildfires (t = −2.51, p = 0.014, 95% CI [-18.91 to −2.20], t = −2.61, p = 0.01, 95% CI [-18.91 to −2.57], t = −2.57, p = 0.012, 95% CI [-22.36 to −2.87] respectively). Practitioners working in communities subjected to wildfires need to run a thorough screening of their patients’ pre-existing mental health conditions to provide the right treatment and referral pathways to those affected by the trauma of wildfires.