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Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2013) 48:525532 DOI 10.1007/s00127-012-0585-7
ORIGINAL PAPER
Lifetime traumatic experiences and their impact on PTSD: a general population study
Karoline Lukaschek Johannes Kruse
Rebecca Thwing Emeny Maria Elena Lacruz
Alexander von Eisenhart Rothe Karl-Heinz Ladwig
Received: 7 May 2012 / Accepted: 4 September 2012 / Published online: 25 September 2012 Springer-Verlag 2012
AbstractObjective Exploring the relationship of exposure to a traumatic event and the subsequent onset of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the population.
Methods Posttraumatic stress disorder was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale (IES), Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and interview data. Logistic regression analyses with sex, age, marital status, educational level and traumatic event characteristics were performed. Prevalences were standardised to the sex and age distribution of the German population.
Results A total of 41 % of the subjects reported exposure to a trauma, leading to full PTSD in 1.7 % and to partial PTSD in 8.8 % of the participants. Logistic regression revealed accidents (OR 2.5, 95 % CI 1.34.7), nonsexual assault by known assailants (4.5, 2.19.8), combat/war
experiences (5.9, 2.017.4), life-threatening illness (4.9,2.78.9) and interpersonal conicts (15.5, 2.596.0) as risk factors for full PTSD; risk factors for partial PTSD were accidents (3.2, 2.44.3), sexual (4.6, 2.29.6) or nonsexual(2.3, 1.43.8) assault by known assailants, life-threatening illness (6.2, 4.68.3), death of relatives (5.0, 3.27.8) and interpersonal conicts (22.0, 8.358.1).
Conclusions Of subjects exposed to traumatic events, only a minority developed PTSD indicating a relationship between characteristics of the exposure and the individual and the onset of PTSD.
Keywords Posttraumatic stress disorder Traumatic
events General population study Germany
Introduction
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prolonged stress response syndrome whose symptoms develop in the aftermath of extremely stressful life events of exceptionally threatening or catastrophic nature [1, 2]. PTSD is not a static, unidimensional entity, but a multidimensional episodic stress response pattern [3]. The multilevel impact of PTSD on organismic functioning produces syndrome constellations that are built on the triad of core PTSD symptoms: (1) re-experiencing, reliving or re-enacting traumatic memories, (2) avoidance tendencies and psychic numbing, (3) psychobiological changes and physiological reactivity (hyperarousal). Previous research has established that a life-time exposure to events associated with PTSD is common, although the gures vary between countries, e.g. 89.6 % in the...