The legacy of the Troubles continues to affect the mental health and wellbeing of people in Northern Ireland, a new study has concluded.
Led by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, the paper found that current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in those aged 50 and over in the region is as high as 4.74 per cent.
The research also highlights increased levels of depression, social deprivation and harmful health behaviours such as smoking and excess alcohol in those with PTSD.
The study was jointly led by Dr Claire Potter from the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s alongside researchers from Trinity College Dublin.
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Using data from the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal study of Ageing (Nicola), the study looked at more than 2,000 people aged 50 and over from Northern Ireland who reported a previous traumatic event.
Almost 60 per cent of those with PTSD reported the Troubles as their worst traumatic exposure.
It also found that those with symptoms of current PTSD had worse memory performance, were less likely to have completed higher educational degrees, were twice as likely to be single and were more than three times more likely to be living in the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland.
The study said they were more likely to have chronic and cardiovascular health conditions, to be smokers and have lower levels of physical activity and be more socially isolated.
Dr Potter said: “There is chronic underfunding of mental health in Northern Ireland that does not match the needs of our population.
The Nicola study was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Research and Development Division, Atlantic Philanthropies, Centre for Ageing Research and Development Ireland, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister Northern Ireland and the Wellcome Trust/Wolfson Foundation, Queen’s University Belfast.
The findings have been published in the journal Social Science & Medicine. – PA
