A population-based study assessing posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder in Turkish adults

This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) in a sample of Turkish adults.

The study was conducted in 30 family health centres in Konya Province, Turkey, which were selected by simple random sampling. The sample comprised 1587 people aged ≥18 years recruited by systematic sampling from neighbourhoods served by the centres. Socio-demographic data were collected, followed by face-to-face diagnostic interviews using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5) for PTSD. After the traumatic event exposure was examined according to SCID-5 traumatic event criteria, a separate clinical interview was conducted with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria to investigate ASD prevalence.

The lifetime prevalence of experiencing at least one traumatic event was 54.9 % in the whole sample. The lifetime PTSD prevalence was 2.6 % (conditional prevalence: 4.7 %). PTSD was correlated with female gender, young age, being separated/divorced/widowed, retirement status, comorbid psychiatric illness, and suicide attempt. The conditional risk of PTSD was highest in sexual violence events (rape, 18.7 %; other sexual assaults, 20.5 %), followed by torture (16.7 %) and sudden violent death (10.8 %). Interpersonal violence (36.6 %) and sexual violence (26.9 %) were the most common traumatic event groups among individuals who developed PTSD. The lifetime ASD prevalence was 4.4 % (conditional prevalence: 8 %). Among socio-demographic variables, ASD was associated only with female gender.

The prevalence of traumatic experiences in Turkish adults indicates the need for support programmes aimed at rapid awareness and treatment to reduce chronicity, suicide and loss of function.