In utero exposure to natural disasters linked with high rates of childhood anxiety, depression

Gianna Melillo
·3 min read
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Story at a glance

  • Superstorm Sandy was one of the worst natural disasters to hit the United States.

  • New research shows that children of pregnant mothers exposed to the storm were at a greater risk of developing anxiety and other mood disorders.

  • As natural disasters grow more frequent thanks in part to climate change, researchers caution the toll on children’s mental health may worsen.

Living through a natural disaster can be traumatizing for survivors and lead to stress reactions and other psychological symptoms.

Now, new research shows in utero exposure to major weather-related disasters is associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression and attention deficit/disruptive behavior disorders in preschool aged children.

Findings, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, revealed disorder rates significantly varied by sex as more male children had substantially higher risks of attention deficit and disruptive behavioral disorders, such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder.

In comparison, female children had a greater risk of developing anxiety disorders, phobia and depressive disorders. These include separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and dysthymia (also known as Persistent depressive disorder).

Authors classified the findings as “extremely alarming.”

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Researchers compared mothers’ exposure to Superstorm Sandy, one of the most damaging hurricanes ever to hit the United States, with childhood psychiatric disorders. They found 53 percent of children exposed to the storm in utero had an anxiety disorder, compared with 22 percent of children who were not exposed.

A total of 163 children, the majority of whom were racial and ethnic minorities, and 151 parents were included in the study. Children were evaluated for disorders annually between the ages 2 and 5. Of the children included, 66 were exposed to Hurricane Sandy and 97 were not.

“We’ve known for some time that maternal stress during pregnancy plays a key role in the mental health development of the child,” said lead study author Yoko Nomura, a psychology professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College, in a statement.

But understanding the connections and distinctions between climate-related disasters and early childhood development “grows more necessary every day with the increased frequency of natural disasters driven by climate change,” Nomura added.

“More attention is needed to understand specific parent, child, and environmental factors which account for this increased risk, and to develop mitigation strategies,” authors wrote, noting the association could be due to the relationships between environmental and genetic effects.

Findings were consistent regardless of maternal age, race, socioeconomic status and maternal substance use and underscore the importance of creating infrastructure that supports pregnant women and families exposed to the disasters to mitigate children’s early mental health risks.

In the last half-century, climate change helped drive a fivefold increase in the number of weather-related disasters around the world, while a continually warming planet will result in more disasters occurring simultaneously.

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