Stress-disorder symptoms in Vietnam and Korean war veterans.
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There is growing evidence that smoking, and in particular heavy smoking, is prevalent in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the pathways responsible for development and perpetuation of smoking in this clinical population have not been identified. Relevant smoking, substance abuse, and anxiety disorder research is reviewed. Although an association between smoking and PTSD has not been directly tested, there is evidence that such research is warranted. Suggestions for future research are offered.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined rates, predictors, and course of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among seriously injured soldiers during and following hospitalization. METHOD: The patients were 613 U.S. soldiers hospitalized following serious combat injury. Standardized screening instruments were administered 1, 4, and 7 months following injury; 243 soldiers completed all three assessments. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of risk factors were performed. PTSD was assessed with the PTSD Checklist; depression was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire. Combat exposure, deployment length, and severity of physical problems were also assessed. RESULTS: At 1 month, 4.2% of the soldiers had probable PTSD and 4.4% had depression; at 4 months, 12.2% had PTSD and 8.9% had depression; at 7 months, 12.0% had PTSD and 9.3% had depression. In the longitudinal cohort, 78.8% of those positive for PTSD or depression at 7 months screened negative for both conditions at 1 month. High levels of physical problems at 1 month were significantly predictive of PTSD (odds ratio=9.1) and depression at 7 months (odds ratio=5.7) when the analysis controlled for demographic variables, combat exposure, and duration of deployment. Physical problem severity at 1 month was also associated with PTSD and depression severity at 7 months after control for 1-month PTSD and depression severity, demographic variables, combat exposure, and deployment length. CONCLUSIONS: Early severity of physical problems was strongly associated with later PTSD or depression. The majority of soldiers with PTSD or depression at 7 months did not meet criteria for either condition at 1 month.
In this article on the effects of chronic traumatization, research is reviewed regarding the association between chronicity of traumatization and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. The contribution of the broader traumatic context to PTSD symptomatology is also examined. This review focuses on three populations: combat veterans, child sexual abuse survivors, and survivors of domestic violence. The challenges of defining chronicity of a traumatic event and traumatic context are addressed. Finally, suggestions for future directions are provided.
We compared serum cortisol, ACTH and plasma beta-endorphin in 21 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder patients and 20 controls. Although we found no important disturbance in diurnal rhythms, the PTSD patients had significantly higher A.M. serum cortisols compared with controls. Both A.M. and P.M. plasma beta-endorphins in PTSD patients were significantly lower compared with controls. These data suggest that plasma beta-endorphin may be a marker for PTSD and that chronic endogenous opioid depletion may play a role in the pathogenesis and perpetuation of this disorder.
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To determine whether basal sympathetic nervous system (SNS) function is increased in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we used a radioisotope dilution technique to assess basal arterialized plasma norepinephrine (NE) kinetics in 12 men who were Viet Nam combat veterans with PTSD and six normal controls. In addition to determining the rates of appearance of NE into, and clearance of NE from, plasma, we measured basal arterialized plasma levels of epinephrine (EPI), and also vital signs, in both groups. Patients with PTSD actually manifested lower arterialized plasma levels of NE, and had lower rates of appearance of NE into plasma, than did controls. The rate of NE clearance from plasma was unaltered in PTSD patients. Patients with PTSD also showed a trend toward lower arterialized EPI levels than controls, but manifested a trend toward higher diastolic blood pressure. Our data indicate that basal SNS activity is not increased in patients with PTSD and that previous reports of increased resting SNS activity in this population may instead reflect SNS reactivity.
The purpose of this study was to examine electrophysiological response to trauma-relevant stimuli in combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Study design incorporated comparison of 10 Vietnam War veterans with PTSD diagnosis to 10 Vietnam War veterans with no mental disorder diagnosis on P3 components in a series of two oddball tasks (trauma-relevant threat, trauma-irrelevant threat) counterbalanced for order. Each task included high probability emotionally neutral distractor words and low probability neutral target words, but differed in the content of low probability threat words. Whereas threat words in the trauma-relevant oddball task pertained directly to combat trauma, threat words in the trauma-irrelevant oddball task were socially threatening words. Results revealed that, in comparison to healthy combat veterans, those diagnosed with PTSD demonstrated: (a) attenuated P3 response to neutral target items at selected electrode sites across both oddball tasks; and (b) increased responsivity to trauma-relevant combat stimuli but not to trauma-irrelevant social-threat stimuli at frontal electrode sites (F3, F4). Results are consistent with resource allocation models of PTSD, which suggest that PTSD is characterized by attentional bias to threat stimuli at the expense of attention to emotionally neutral information.
It is not easy to diagnose the sequelae of organized violence as they might become manifest at older age. The concept of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) gives to little to hang on. A more specific diagnosis such as the DESNOS (Disorders of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified) which was proposed for (but not included in) the DSM IV is lacking. In the ICD-10 we find the diagnosis "Durable personality changes after catastrofic experiences" based on five global criteria which are not validated yet. From a clinical point of view there is a need for a testable and operational concept of the enduring posttraumatic personality changes. The concept of the posttraumatic self disorder is chosen here. It consists of disorders of the physical self, the object relational self and the historical self. In this article the historical self is described in more detail. Different empirical findings are discussed to illustrate that experience of one's own life history might be disturbed after having been submitted to organized violence. This can lead to serious complaints and functional psychological interferences. Self disorders are part of these late and durable posttraumatic phenomenology.
The subjective sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including the repetitive, stereotypical anxiety dream, suggests dysfunctional rapid eye movement (REM) sleep mechanisms. The polysomnograms of a group of physically healthy combat veterans with current PTSD were compared with those of an age-appropriate normal control group. Tonic and phasic REM sleep measures in the PTSD subjects were elevated on the second night of recorded sleep. Increased phasic REM sleep activity persisted in the PTSD group on the subsequent night. During the study, an anxiety dream occurred in a PTSD subject in REM sleep. The results are consistent with the view that a dysregulation of the REM sleep control system, particularly phasic event generation, may be involved in the pathogenesis of PTSD. The finding of a specific disturbance of sleep unique to PTSD may have significant implications for the design of effective treatments for PTSD.
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This study assesses the optimal cut-off point for the Impact of Event Scale and compares its screening properties with those of the Self-rating Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among war-related trauma victims. 74 patients with war-related trauma were administered the Impact of Event Scale and the Self-rating Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, followed 1 wk. later by the Clinician-administered PTSD Scale. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated for the Impact of Event Scale a sensitivity of .77 and a specificity of .51 at a cut-off value of 36. For the Self-rating Inventory for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder a sensitivity of .86 and a specificity of .69 were found at a cut-off value of 52. The authors conclude that careful use of the Impact of Event Scale as a screening measure for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is warranted.