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Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and diagnostic comorbidity in a disaster sample
B L Green1, J D Lindy, M C Grace
1Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20007.
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
|December 1, 1992
Summary
Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occurs with other mental health conditions. This study found similar comorbidity patterns in disaster survivors as in war veterans, suggesting PTSD
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Trauma Studies
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with comorbid psychopathology in war veterans.
- The generalizability of these findings to non-veteran trauma populations remains an area of investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the comorbidity of chronic PTSD in a disaster survivor sample.
- To compare PTSD comorbidity in disaster survivors with findings from veteran samples.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III (SCID) for diagnoses.
- Examined 193 subjects 14 years after the 1972 Buffalo Creek dam collapse.
- Assessed for past and present PTSD and other psychiatric disorders.
Main Results:
- A significant portion of the disaster sample exhibited past and present PTSD.
- Major depression was the most common comorbid diagnosis, highly related to PTSD.
- Anxiety disorders were also prevalent; comorbidity patterns largely mirrored those in Vietnam veterans, with fewer dysthymic disorders, substance abuse, and antisocial personality disorders.
Conclusions:
- Comorbidity patterns in chronic PTSD appear relatively stable across different trauma populations, including disaster survivors.
- The underlying structure of PTSD may be consistent in non-veteran trauma survivors.
- Further research is needed to understand the implications of these stable comorbidity patterns.