Chernobyl disaster sequelae in recent immigrants to the United States from the former Soviet Union (FSU).

Long-term mental health sequelae of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster have been documented for exposed populations who remained in the former Soviet Union (FSU) (Havenaar et al., 1997), and in a cohort migrated to Israel (Cwikel et al., 1997). This paper reports on Chernobyl disaster sequelae in émigrés (n = 321) to the United States. Demographic characteristics, migration factors, and self-reported physical health were considered. Both geographical proximity to the 1986 disaster, and perception of radiation risk stood as long-term indicators of current psychological distress. Proximity was related to poor self-perceived physical health, as well as current symptoms of depression (p<.05), anxiety (p<.01), and Chernobyl-related trauma distress (p<.001) on standardized measures. Environmental contamination as a reason for migration was also associated with greater mental health symptomatology.