Health Status and Risk Factors among Adolescent Survivors One Month after the 2014 Ludian Earthquake

BACKGROUND An earthquake struck Ludian in Yunnan Province (China) on 3 August 2014, resulting in 3143 injuries, 617 deaths, and 112 missing persons. Our study aimed at estimating the health status and associated determinants among adolescent survivors after the Ludian earthquake. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of 845 was conducted at the Ludian No. 1 Middle School. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA and stepwise linear regression analysis were used for data analysis. RESULTS The mean scores on the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) were 46.23 (SD=7.10) and 36.34 (SD=7.09), respectively. Lower PCS scores in the aftermath of an earthquake were associated with being trapped or in danger, being female, being an ethnic minority, injury to self and house damage, while lower MSC scores were associated with fear during the earthquake, Han ethnicity, death in the family, not being involved in the rescue and low household income. CONCLUSIONS In our study, significant associations between demographic, socio-economic, and trauma-related experiences variables and overall physical and mental health of adolescent survivors were presented. The results of this study help expand our knowledge of health status among adolescent survivors after the Ludian earthquake.