Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

Assessment of Dependence in Activities of Daily Living Among Older Patients in an Acute Care Unit
Published on: September 30, 2020
Later life disability status following incarceration as a prisoner of war
Stephen C Hunt1, Mack Orsborn, Harvey Checkoway
1VA Puget Sound Health Care System, 1660 South Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108, USA.
Objective:
Incarceration-related predictors of later life disability in former prisoners of war (POWs) have not been previously described. The objective of this project was to identify aspects of POW incarceration which are associated with later life disability status.
Methods:
Cross-sectional retrospective study of 328 former U.S. military personnel held as POWs (World War II and Korean and Vietnam Wars) who presented for evaluations at a Veterans Affairs medical center between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 2004 outcome measures were: (1) total number of later life disability conditions attributable to incarceration and (2) cumulative percentage later life disability attributable to these conditions.
Results:
We found significant associations between later life disability and POW experiences, including experiencing or witnessing torture, solitary confinement, forced marches, dysentry, pellagra, vitamin deficiencies, scabies, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Conclusions:
Conditions of captivity and health concerns or emotional distress during captivity may contribute to long-term adverse health outcomes as measured by later life disabilities in individuals incarcerated as POWs.
Related Concept Videos
Classification of Illness
An illness is a response to a disease in which the person's level of functioning is changed compared with a previous level. The general classification of illness includes acute and chronic.
Acute illness is severe and...
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Restorative Care
Intellectual Disability
Continuing Care
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...
