Post-Earthquake Cardiac Anxiety In The Elderly

Aim: Determining the level of post-earthquake cardiac anxiety in older adult individuals.Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted between July and October 2023 in a public hospital affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in southern Türkiye with 255 individuals aged ≥65 years. Data were collected using the Patient Descriptive Characteristics Form and Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ). Statistical analyses were performed with the IBM SPSS (Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0) package program. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare binary variables, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare multiple variables. Mean±standard deviation values were used to summarize numerical variables and number and % values were given for categorical variables. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated to test validity and reliability. Statistical significance was determined as p < 0.05 for all data. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire for this study was 0.83.Results: The mean CAQ total score was 1.87±0.60 (min: 0.33; max: 3.72). There was a negative direction, weak and statistically significant correlation between the participants' chronic disease status and the mean total score of the CAQ (rspearman= -0.168; p < 0.05), and a negative direction, weak (rspearman= -0.266; p < 0.05) and statistically significant correlation between the place where they stayed after the earthquake and the mean total score of the CAQ (rspearman= -0.135; p < 0.05).Conclusion: It was concluded that older adults experienced cardiac anxiety after the earthquake.