Epidemiology of mental health disorders in territories comparable to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands : a literature review

• Main Author: Decker, Cyrille
• Other Authors: Université de La Réunion - UFR Santé (UR UFRS), Université de La Réunion (UR), Laurent Blum
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Polar; Isolated; Mental health; Psychiatry; Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises; Polaire; Austral; Santé mentale; Psychiatrie; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctique*
• Online Access: https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03900725; https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03900725/document; https://dumas.ccsd.cnrs.fr/dumas-03900725/file/Decker_Cyrille_38007951.pdf

Since the first Antarctic missions, mental health has been an issue for team members on expeditions to these extreme territories and has not, to our knowledge, been the subject of any recent study. Through a review of the literature, a collection of data (quantitative and qualitative) and a questionnaire sent to the doctors of the TAAF (French Southern and Antarctic Lands), this work takes stock of the situation. Our objective is to improve the knowledge and training in mental health of the medical teams of the TAAF. According to the review, psychiatric consultations represent 3 to 7% of the consultation registers, 10% if we add sleep disorders and addictions; that proportion has been found in the registers analyzed by us. A majority of the TAAF physicians interviewed actually place these consultations above 10% - even above 30%. This remains lower than the prevalence of certain disorders (sleep) when active research is carried out (up to 50% of wintering populations). The specificity of certain pathologies (wintering syndrome, Antarctic stare, hibernation); the hypothesis of an underestimation of mental health disorders affecting TAAF personnel; the high prevalence of psychological disorders in bases with low numbers of personnel and the hypothesis that human factors are predominant; the relevance of specific treatments (melatonin, thyroid hormones, light therapy) are still discussed. If the mental health care offer in the TAAF seems to be satisfactory from the point of view of the physicians, it remains a challenge that motivates a strong demand for training in mental health (ex. : suicidal crisis). Dès les premières missions antarctiques, la santé mentale a été un enjeu pour les membres d’équipe en expédition dans ces territoires extrêmes et qui n’a fait à notre connaissance l’objet d’aucune étude récente. Au travers d’une revue de littérature, d’un recueil de données (quanti et qualitatives) et d’un questionnaire adressé aux médecins des TAAF (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises), ce travail en ...