{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T15:23:10Z","timestamp":1787066590150,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,30]],"date-time":"2024-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1717027200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Alberta Mental Health Foundation"},{"name":"Global Psychological eHealth Foundation"},{"name":"QEII Foundation"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Wildfires have become increasingly prevalent in various regions, resulting in substantial environmental and psychological consequences that have garnered increasing attention. Objective: This study aims to examine the prevalence of likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and explore the determinants of likely GAD during the wildfires in Alberta and Nova Scotia. Methods: Data were collected online through a cross-sectional survey from 14 May\u201323 June 2023. Alberta and Nova Scotia participants self-subscribed to the program by texting \u2018HopeAB\u2019 or \u2018HopeNS\u2019 to a short code, respectively. The GAD-7\u2013validated tool was used to collect information on likely GAD. Results: This study included 298 respondents while one hundred and twelve respondents lived in a region of Alberta\/Nova Scotia affected by the wildfires (37.7%). The prevalence of likely GAD among the respondents was 41.9%. Respondents who lived in a region of Alberta\/Nova Scotia recently impacted by the wildfires were twice as likely to experience GAD symptoms (OR = 2.4; 95% C.I. 1.3\u20134.3). Conclusions: The study\u2019s identification of a statistically significant relationship between residing in a wildfire-impacted region and likely GAD shows the association between environmental and psychological well-being. However, the relatively small sample size and self-reported assessment of GAD symptoms may limit the generalizability of the findings. Further research involving a larger sample size delving into potential predictors could facilitate strategies for mitigating the mental health consequences of natural disasters.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13113234","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,30]],"date-time":"2024-05-30T10:42:34Z","timestamp":1717065754000},"page":"3234","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["2023 Wildfires in Canada: Living in Wildfire Regions in Alberta and Nova Scotia Doubled the Odds for Residents to Experience Likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5325-8054","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gloria","family":"Obuobi-Donkor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3717-6398","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reham","family":"Shalaby","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7633-6529","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Belinda","family":"Agyapong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6347-4620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raquel","family":"da Luz Dias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2743-0372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vincent Israel Opoku","family":"Agyapong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada"},{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.31887\/DCNS.2015.17.3\/bbandelow","article-title":"Epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the 21st century","volume":"17","author":"Bandelow","year":"2015","journal-title":"Dialogues Clin. 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