Highlights

•  Earthquakes cause profound physical and mental health impacts in human history.
•  Affected adults face about twice the risk of short-term stress-related psychiatric disorders.
•  Risk of PTSD is significantly higher in adults affected by earthquakes.
•  Middle-aged males (40-64 years) show higher rates of stress-related mental illnesses short-term (<1 year) and long-term (up to 20 years)

Background: Firefighters face regular exposure to potentially traumatic events, which is associated with the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Despite the high comorbidity, there remains limited understanding of the co-occurrence of PTSD and depression in terms of symptom patterns. Due to the unique stressors added by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is relevant to also understand this comorbidity in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the threat of climate change looms large, and we experience first-hand the impacts of rapid global warming, researchers and clinicians emphasize the need to better understand the impact of these changes on our mental health. Existing research suggests that coping with and emotional reactions to climate change can promote action to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change and reduce its negative impacts to one’s mental health.

Background: Exposure to earthquakes can cause adverse effects on the mental health of survivors, including an increased risk of PTSD.

Objective: This systematic review aims to analyse the previous secondary studies to identify the risk factors for PTSD from children to elderly earthquake survivors. In addition, it aims to consider the complexity of the joint effects of the individual, relational, and contextual risk factors, to also detect the most at-risk families.