With the view to addressing the mental health needs of the Colombian population, exposed to many decades of armed conflict, an interview-based cross-sectional survey study was implemented in five departments (regions) of Colombia. The survey instrument measured, inter alia, exposure to armed conflict (LEC-5 and victim status) and health outcome (SCL-25 and self-reported health). 4480 interviews were conducted by trained interviewers. The results showed no association between prevalence of mental health symptoms and resident area exposure to armed conflict. However, a clear association between both number of events reported and victim status on the one hand and depression and anxiety as well as self-reported health on the other was found. Exposure to one and two or more events were associated with relative risk of depression or anxiety or both of 1.8 (CI 1.4-2.6) and 4.2 (CI 3.5-14.8) compared to no exposure. The other indicators used showed similar gradients. In conclusion, this survey study showed a strong association between exposure to armed conflict and health, including mental health, impact.
Østergaard et al. (Tue,) studied this question.