Mental disorders in elderly victims of man-made disasters: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE

To map studies on the presence of mental disorders in elderly individuals who have experienced man-made disasters.

METHODOLOGY: This is a scoping review based on the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. The strategy was applied to the databases Medline/PubMed, LILACS/BVS, PsycInfo, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL without temporal or linguistic restrictions. The study selection was performed blindly and in pairs, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer.

RESULTS

A total of 36 studies were included in this review. Most of the studies were conducted in the US and were cross-sectional, focusing on terrorism and industrial accidents. The identified mental disorders included post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and substance use or abuse.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate the presence of mental disorders in elderly victims of man-made disasters, despite greater resilience due to their life experiences.