Wartime stressors: impact on the general health status of population in Stepanakert aged 40 years and over

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between exposure to wartime events and general health status of the population in Kharabagh. Secondary objective of the study was creating a baseline database for further investigation and other longitudinal assessments. For more comprehensive investigation of health status of the population, data from the Armavir study were used for comparison. Cross-sectional study design was utilized in the study. A survey was conducted in Stepanakert. The study population comprised of men and women aged 40 and over living in Stepanakert (n=250). Because of time constraints a decision was made to input the data from the first 73 interviews. These interviews provided the basis for the preliminary analysis. The study instrument was a questionnaire. SF-36 was utilized as part of questionnaire. This preliminary study revealed association between war-related stress and CVD morbidity. The risk of having hypertension was increased by 1.9 times in exposed group vs. unexposed (95% CI [0.94; 3.84] p=0.0377). The risk of heart disease was increased by 2.09 times (95% CI [0.93; 4.7] p=0.0415). The other interesting finding was the association between stress and arthritis: the risk of arthritis was increased by 2.96 times (95% CI [0.99; 8.74] p=0.0197). SF-36 was analysed in eight domains. The study data were compared with US national norms.The analysis revealed statistically significant difference in six domains: PF, RP, BP, SF, RE, and MH. The results were significantly lower than US norms. In two domains (GH, VT) the data were very close to the US norms and even in some cases significantly higher. The most significant association between stress and domains was observed in VT (RR = 2.17 95% CI [0.85; 5.55] p=0.068). In the rest of domains there was no association. The study should be completed for more solid results.