Epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Purpose of review This review discusses recent findings from epidemiological surveys of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) globally, including their prevalence, risk factors, and consequences in the community. Recent findings A number of studies on the epidemiology of PTSD have recently been published from diverse countries, with new methodological innovations introduced. Such work has not only documented the prevalence of PTSD in different settings, but has also shed new light on the PTSD conditional risk associated with specific traumatic events, and on the morbidity and comorbidities associated with these events. Summary Recent community studies show that trauma exposure is higher in lower-income countries compared with high-income countries. PTSD prevalence rates are largely similar across countries, however, with the highest rates being found in postconflict settings. Trauma and PTSD-risk factors are distributed differently in lower-income countries compared with high-income countries, with sociodemographic factors contributing more to this risk in high-income than low-income countries. Apart from PTSD, trauma exposure is also associated with several chronic physical conditions. These findings indicate a high burden of trauma exposure in low-income countries and postconflict settings, where access to trained mental health professionals is typically low.

Trauma and PTSD in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

“…Our finding that conditional PTSD risk is elevated after traumas involving violence is broadly consistent with previous research (see reviews in Atwoli et al, 2015; Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003). We also found that prior exposure to some traumas involving violence was associated with generalized vulnerability to subsequent PTSD.…”

“…The fact that only a small minority of people in the population develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Atwoli, Stein, Koenen, & McLaughlin, 2015) even though the vast majority are exposed to traumas at some time in their life (Benjet et al, 2016) has raised questions about individual differences in psychological vulnerability to PTSD. These questions are the subject of considerable research (Liberzon & Abelson, 2016; Sayed, Iacoviello, & Charney, 2015; Smoller, 2016).…”

The Microbiome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Exposed Controls: An Exploratory Study

“…Symptoms can persist for years following a traumatic event (6) and negatively affect quality of life (7, 8). Prevalence of PTSD in SA has been found to range between 2.3% and 19.9% (9, 10). In light of the substantial health and economic burden imposed by PTSD, research into the pathophysiology of the disease is imperative to both gain new insights into factors that contribute to the disease and to develop novel strategies for prevention and treatment.…”

Emergence in extinction of enhanced and persistent responding to ambiguous aversive cues is associated with high MAOA activity in the prelimbic cortex

“…Werner, 1989, Norris, 1992, Galatzer-Levy et al., 2012), and that when so its development is not uniform (Bonanno and Mancini, 2012). The lifetime incidence of post-traumatic stress syndrome varies between groups, and in the general population estimates approximate 6–12% in the U.S. (Breslau et al., 1991, Breslau et al., 1998, Resnick et al., 1993, Breslau et al., 1998, Kessler et al., 2005, O'Donnell et al., 2014), ranging between 1 and 9% in other countries (Atwoli et al., 2015)—with debilitating consequences a public health issue with costly ramifications. Much work is still needed for broadly successful or even personalized interventions.…”