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. 2025 Oct 4.
doi: 10.1038/s41393-025-01122-9. Online ahead of print.

Psychosocial impact and anxiety determinants in individuals with spinal cord injury following the april 2025 istanbul earthquake: perceptions of safety and early post-disaster experience

Ümit Yalçın  1 , Fatih Bağcıer  2 , Pınar Öztop Çiftkaya  2 , Burcu Çınar  2 , Ali Kaan Öztürk  2 , Esra Nur Güçlü  2 , Burak Tayyip Dede  3 , Burcu Hazer  2 , Evrim Coşkun  2
Affiliations

Psychosocial impact and anxiety determinants in individuals with spinal cord injury following the april 2025 istanbul earthquake: perceptions of safety and early post-disaster experience

Ümit Yalçın et al. Spinal Cord. .

Abstract

Study design: A cross sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the earthquake experiences, perceived safety, and psychological impact-specifically anxiety and post-traumatic stress levels-among individuals with SCI following the 6.2-magnitude Istanbul earthquake on April 23, 2025.

Setting: A tertiary referral hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, where hospitalized and community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) were evaluated on the fifth day following the April 2025 earthquake.

Methods: A total of 64 participants, including hospitalized SCI patients (n = 19), community-dwelling SCI patients (n = 22), and able-bodied controls (n = 23), were evaluated within five days of the disaster. Demographic data, housing characteristics, and disaster experiences were recorded. Psychological assessment included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and a 10-item perceived safety scale.

Results: SCI participants had significantly higher BAI scores compared to able-bodied individuals (p < 0.05). Hospitalized SCI patients reported lower anxiety levels than their community-dwelling counterparts. No significant differences were found regarding mobility level, location (European vs. Asian side), building age, or number of floors. A strong correlation was observed between anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms (r = 0.770, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Given the low participant numbers, our data suggests that SCI individuals may be more psychologically affected by earthquakes than able-bodied peers, regardless of functional independence or physical environment. Hospitalization during disaster may offer protective psychological benefits. These findings highlight the importance of integrating psychosocial support and tailored disaster preparedness strategies for individuals with SCI.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital (approval number: 2025 / 160). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study. The study adhered to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

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