Disaster exposure and women's mental and general health: evidence from longitudinal data

Disasters can have important consequences for health, yet much evidence is cross-sectional and cannot account for time-invariant individual heterogeneity.

To examine the association between reported disaster exposure and women's mental health, psychological distress, and general health using longitudinal Australian data.

Data from women aged ≥ 15 years participating in Waves 9-22 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey were analysed. Individual and survey-wave fixed-effects models examined within-person associations between disaster exposure and mental health (MHI-5), psychological distress (Kessler-10), and SF-36 General Health. Sensitivity analyses considered long-term illness and single exposure. Dynamic associations were examined using the Callaway-Sant'Anna multiple-period difference-in-differences estimator with formal pre-trend tests.

Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest declines in mental health (β = -0.86, 95% CI - 1.51 to -0.20) and general health (β = -0.83, 95% CI - 1.44 to -0.22). Psychological distress was higher but not statistically significant in the primary model (β = 0.33, 95% CI - 0.04 to 0.70). Sensitivity analyses generally supported the mental and general health findings. Event-study analyses showed no consistent evidence of persistent post-exposure deterioration; however, the MHI-5 joint pre-trend test indicated differential pre-exposure patterns, limiting causal interpretation.

Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest within-person declines in women's mental and general health, while evidence for psychological distress was less conclusive. The findings support consideration of women's health in disaster preparedness and recovery planning.