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This page contains information and summaries of
published research that are intended for people with professional training in
mental health. We urge caution since
it may be difficult to know how to interpret the information without advanced
training in psychology or psychiatry.
We recommend that readers interested in information intended for
the general public check other areas of this web site (such as Info
for Adults or Info
for Children). They contain similar information, but in a more readable
form. Also, elsewhere we have provided links
to other websites that we feel may be helpful.
COMORBIDITY
The National Comorbidity
Study found that 88.3% of men and 79.0%
of women with a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD
met criteria for at least one other disorder” (Kessler et al.,
1995).
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U.S.
epidemiological findings indicate that 80%
of people with lifetime PTSD suffer from lifetime depression, another
anxiety disorder, or chemical abuse/dependency (Foa et al., 2000)
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It
appears that depression usually develops after PTSD.
In one study, 78.4% of
participants with comorbid major depression and PTSD reported that the onset
of their depression followed that of PTSD (Kessler et al., 1995).
| Lifetime
prevalence rates of alcohol abuse/dependence among men and women with
PTSD are about 52% and 28% respectively, and current prevalence rates for
drug abuse/dependence are 35% and 27% respectively (Foa et al., 2000)
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| Work,
marital, and family problems are more common (Foa & Rothbaum, 1998).
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Even subthreshold symptoms
of PTSD are associated with significant comorbidity:
| “Impairment,
number of comorbid disorders, rates of comorbid major depressive
disorder, and current suicidal ideation increased linearly and
significantly with each increasing number of subthreshold PTSD
symptoms. Individuals with subthreshold PTSD were at greater risk for suicidal ideation even
after the authors controlled for the presence of comorbid major
depressive disorder” (Marshall et al., 2001).
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| “rates
of impairment, comorbid anxiety disorders, and comorbid major
depressive disorder were 31.5%, 68.5%, and 90.7% higher,
respectively, among the subjects with four PTSD
symptoms than among the subjects with no PTSD symptoms”
(Marshall
et al., 2001).
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19% of rape victims make a suicide
attempt, 44% consider it
(Foa
& Rothbaum, 1998)
Trauma
survivors report more medical symptoms, use more medical services, have more
medical illnesses detected during physical examinations, and display higher
mortality (Foa et al., 2000).
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Those with PTSD are more likely to have significant health problems such
as hypertension, bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer, and GI problems.
They also have increased rates of surgery and doctor visits
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“The
number of lymphocytes, number of T
cells, NK cell activity,
and total amounts of IFN-
and IL-4 were significantly lower
in the 12 men with a past history of PTSD. . .
PTSD leaves a long-lasting
immunosuppression and has long-term implications for health” (Kawamura,
N., Kim, Y., & Asukai, N., 2001).
PTSD
also has cognitive effects:
| PTSD
is also associated with deficits in short term memory, but not WAIS-R scores (Bremner
et al., 1993):
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“The
PTSD patients scored
significantly lower than the comparison subjects on the Wechsler
Memory Scale logical
memory measures for immediate
recall (mean = 11.6, SD = 3.3 versus mean = 20.9, SD = 6.6)
and delayed recall (mean =
8.0, SD = 3.3 versus mean = 17.8, SD = 6.4).”
See
“Biological Findings and Theory” section for other cognitive effects
of PTSD
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