ICD-11 Prevalence Rates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a German Nationwide Sample

Abstract

Prevalence rates are still lacking for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) diagnoses based on the new ICD-11 criteria. In a nationwide representative German sample (N = 2524; 14-99 years), exposure to traumatic events and symptoms of PTSD or CPTSD were assessed with the International Trauma Questionnaire. A clinical variant of CPTSD with a lower threshold for core PTSD symptoms was also calculated, in addition to conditional prevalence rates dependent on trauma type and differential predictors. One-month prevalence rates were as follows: PTSD, 1.5%; CPTSD, 0.5%; and CPTSD variant, 0.7%. For PTSD, the highest conditional prevalence was associated with kidnapping or rape, and the highest CPTSD rates were associated with sexual childhood abuse or rape. PTSD and CPTSD were best differentiated by sexual violence. Combined PTSD and CPTSD (ICD-11) rates were in the range of previously reported prevalences for unified PTSD (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition; ICD-10). Evidence on differential predictors of PTSD and CPTSD is still preliminary.

Differential Associations Among PTSD and Complex PTSD Symptoms and Traumatic Experiences and Postmigration Difficulties in a Culturally Diverse Refugee Sample

“…Although little is known about the cross‐cultural validity of ICD‐11 PTSD and CPTSD thus far, initial empirical evidence from refugee populations and populations from war and conflict zones was presented for the ICD‐11 PTSD (Stammel, Abbing, Heeke, & Knaevelsrud, ; Tay, Rees, Chen, Kareth, & Silove, ) and CPTSD concepts (Murphy, Elklit, Dokkedahl, & Shevlin, ; Nickerson et al., ). Previously reported findings in resettled refugees in Switzerland (Nickerson et al., ) and conflict‐affected youth in Uganda (Murphy et al., ) indicated a CPTSD prevalence between 21%–34% compared with only 0.5% in a nationwide German sample (Maercker, Hecker, Augsburger, & Kliem, ). However, apart from these prevalence estimates, little is known so far about the prevalence of ICD‐11 PTSD and CPTSD among refugees and asylum seekers who have settled in Western countries.…”

PTSD and Complex PTSD: ICD-11 updates on concept and measurement in the UK, USA, Germany and Lithuania

“…For the current report, only methodological aspects can be discussed since results have been submitted for publication elsewhere (Maercker, Hecker, Augsburger & Kliem, in press). Households in Germany ( n  = 3416) were sampled according to representative country regions, and members of those households were randomly selected applying the Kish selection grid method.…”

Diagnostik von Traumafolgestörungen: Was ändert sich mit der ICD-11?

“…Daraus resultierte, dass die Komplexe PTBS die Kategorie ist, die am häufigsten zur Aufnahme in die ICD-11 vorgeschlagen wurde [2]. Mit dieser Diagnose sollen die komplexeren klinischen Symptome beschrieben werden, welche nach besonders schwerwiegenden und andauernden -meist interpersonalen -Belastungen auftreten und die durch die Diagnosekriterien der PTBS nur unzureichend abgedeckt werden [3].…”