Salud mental en víctimas de la violencia armada en Bojayá (Chocó, Colombia) 1

Purpose: To describe the mental health status of victims of an armed combat in the state of Choco (Colombia). Method: A description of the mental disorders associated with a traumatic experience lived on May 2nd 2002 (Bojaya township- Colombia), as a conse- quence of an armed confrontation, resulting in 119 persons dead and 98 injured. Analytic level methodology, with case control design, was used. A non random sample of 40 civilian adults, mean age 35 years, was studied. Of these, 19 persons returned to their place of origin and 21 persons remained in Quibdo ( state capital) were evaluated. The case group consisted of a total of 15 persons with Post- traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the control group included 25 persons without PTSD diagnosis. The instrument used for evaluation was the structured interview pro- tocol M.I.N.I applied one year after the tragic event. Results: Disorders that showed greater association with PTSD were: Social Phobia(p=0.001, OR 26.29), Actual Panic Disorder(p=0.008, OR 15.33), Occasional PanicDisor- der (p=0.019, OR 8.25), and Agoraphobiawithout PanicHistory (p=0.024, OR=11.50). The prevalence of was high for the following disorders, without significant differences between groups: Major Depression (MD) (37% cases and 38% controls), Suicide Risk(37% y 62% respectively), Generalised Anxiety Disorder(GAD) (47% and 38% respectively). Conclusions: Victims of armed violence who suffer PTSD are at high risk of presenting other anxiety disorders such as social pho- bias, GAD, and panicattacks.