Post-traumatic stress disorder: outline and updated insights focusing on occupational factors

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a stress-related disorder associated with substantial psychological distress and functional impairment, and it carries major relevance for occupational health because it frequently follows traumatic exposure in both high-risk professions and occupations not traditionally classified as high risk. This narrative review focuses on occupational risk factors, prevalence, work capacity, and implications for workers' compensation and return to work.

A non-systematic (narrative) literature search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar for English- and German-language articles, with supplementary hand-searching of reference lists and institutional/guideline sources (e.g., WHO, AWMF). No protocol was registered, consistent with conventions for narrative reviews. Reporting follows the general principles of the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA), the checklist commonly used to appraise this review type, rather than PRISMA, which applies to systematic reviews.

Occupational risk is particularly elevated in military service (including soldiers and veterans), public safety and disaster management, and occupations with structurally frequent severe incidents (e.g., transport, construction, industrial production), while unpredictable bystander events can also trigger PTSD in occupations not traditionally classified as high risk settings. Risk is shaped by trauma type, severity, and recurrence, as well as pre-traumatic, peri-traumatic, and post-traumatic factors. Prevalence varies substantially by context and is not directly comparable across studies, which differ markedly in population, exposure severity, diagnostic method, and assessment period. With this caveat, particularly high burden is reported in conflict-affected populations, healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and trauma-exposed occupational groups such as military personnel, police officers, paramedics, train drivers, construction workers and industrial workers. Established treatments (trauma-focused psychotherapy, with pharmacotherapy as an adjunct) are distinct from early post-event interventions such as screening and Psychological First Aid, which aim to prevent chronicity rather than treat established illness. Routine single-session debriefing is not supported by the evidence. Occupational medicine must also address work capacity, return to work, compensation, and rehabilitation, since symptomatic improvement does not necessarily restore functional ability.

Stronger workplace prevention, early screening after traumatic exposure, organizational support, and clearer compensation and return-to-work pathways are needed to reduce the long-term occupational consequences of PTSD. Evidence specifically comparing treatment of occupational versus non-occupational PTSD remains limited, and prevalence estimates should be interpreted in light of substantial heterogeneity across the underlying studies.