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PTSD Diagnosis (ptsd + diagnosis)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

Efficacy of interpersonal therapy-group format adapted to post-traumatic stress disorder: an open-label add-on trial

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 1 2010
Rosaly F.B. Campanini MSc.
Abstract Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent condition, yet available treatments demonstrate only modest efficacy. Exposure therapies, considered by many to be the "gold-standard" therapy for PTSD, are poorly tolerated by many patients and show high attrition. We evaluated interpersonal therapy, in a group format, adapted to PTSD (IPT-G PTSD), as an adjunctive treatment for patients who failed to respond to conventional psychopharmacological treatment. Methods: Research participants included 40 patients who sought treatment through a program on violence in the department of psychiatry of Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). They had received conventional psychopharmacological treatment for at least 12 weeks and failed to have an adequate clinical response. After signing an informed consent, approved earlier by the UNIFESP Ethics Review Board, they received a semi-structured diagnostic interview (SCID-I), administered by a trained mental health worker, to confirm the presence of a PTSD diagnosis according to DSM-IV criteria. Other instruments were administered, and patients completed out self-report instruments at baseline, and endpoint to evaluate clinical outcomes. Results: Thirty-three patients completed the trial, but all had at least one second outcome evaluation. There were significant improvements on all measures, with large effect sizes. Conclusions: IPT-G PTSD was effective not only in decreasing symptoms of PTSD, but also in decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. It led to significant improvements in social adjustment and quality of life. It was well tolerated and there were few dropouts. Our results are very preliminary; they need further confirmation through randomized controlled clinical trials. Depression and Anxiety, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Ten-year follow-up study of PTSD diagnosis, symptom severity and psychosocial indices in aging holocaust survivors

ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 1 2009
R. Yehuda
Objective:, We performed a longitudinal study of holocaust survivors with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by assessing symptoms and other measures at two intervals, approximately 10 years apart. Method:, The original cohort consisted of 63 community-dwelling subjects, of whom 40 were available for follow-up. Results:, There was a general diminution in PTSD symptom severity over time. However, in 10% of the subjects (n = 4), new instances of delayed onset PTSD developed between time 1 and time 2. Self-report ratings at both assessments revealed a worsening of trauma-related symptoms over time in persons without PTSD at time 1, but an improvement in those with PTSD at time 1. Conclusion:, The findings suggest that a nuanced characterization of PTSD trajectory over time is more reflective of PTSD symptomatology than simple diagnostic status at one time. The possibility of delayed onset trajectory complicates any simplistic overall trajectory summarizing the longitudinal course of PTSD. [source]

Greater Prevalence and Incidence of Dementia in Older Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2010
[See editorial comments by Dr. Soo Borson, pp 1797-1798]
OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dementia in older veterans. DESIGN: Administrative database study of individuals seen within one regional division of the Veterans Affairs healthcare network. SETTING: Veterans Integrated Service Network 16. PARTICIPANTS: Veterans aged 65 and older who had a diagnosis of PTSD or who were recipients of a Purple Heart (PH) and a comparison group of the same age with no PTSD diagnosis or PH were divided into four groups: those with PTSD and no PH (PTSD+/PH,, n=3,660), those with PH and no PTSD (PTSD,/PH+, n=1,503), those with PTSD and a PH (PTSD+/PH+, n=153), and those without PTSD or a PH (PTSD,/PH,, n=5,165). MEASUREMENTS: Incidence and prevalence of dementia after controlling for confounding factors in multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: The PTSD+/PH, group had a significantly higher incidence and prevalence of dementia than the groups without PTSD with or without a PH. The prevalence and incidence of a dementia diagnosis remained two times as high in the PTSD+/PH, group as in the PTSD,/PH+ or PTSD,/PH, group after adjusting for the confounding factors. There were no statistically significant differences between the other groups. CONCLUSION: The incidence and prevalence of dementia is greater in veterans with PTSD. It is unclear whether this is due to a common risk factor underlying PTSD and dementia or to PTSD being a risk factor for dementia. Regardless, this study suggests that veterans with PTSD should be screened more closely for dementia. Because PTSD is so common in veterans, this association has important implications for veteran care. [source]

Changes in Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD: Implications From Two Prospective Longitudinal Studies

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2007
Zahava Solomon PhD
This study assesses differences in PTSD rates according to different sets of diagnostic criteria. Two samples have been studied: one comprised of 286 combat stress reaction (CSR) casualties and 218 non-CSR veterans from the Lebanon war (Study 1); the other of 95 ex-POWs and 101 non-POWs from the Yom Kipur war (Study 2). Participants were administered two versions of the PTSD inventory based on different Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) editions: DSM-III and DSM-IV in Study 1 and DSM-III-R and DSM-IV in Study 2. PTSD rates declined when criteria of more recent DSM editions were applied. In addition, findings clearly demonstrate the importance of the dysfunction criterion (F) in PTSD. The highly complex nature of the PTSD diagnosis is discussed, as well as the important role of dysfunction and distress. [source]

Avoiding awareness of betrayal: Comment on Lindblom and Gray (2009)

APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Jennifer J. Freyd
Betrayal trauma theory (BTT) predicts that unawareness of abuse by someone on whom a victim is dependent may serve to protect a necessary relationship. Lindblom and Gray (2009) contribute to a growing line of BTT studies by measuring narrative detail in a sample of undergraduates who met Criterion A of the PTSD diagnosis and who rated the abuse as their most distressing trauma. Although many core betrayal traumas do not fit Criterion A, Lindblom and Gray found a small effect in the predicted direction. Having found an effect as predicted by BTT, curiously the authors then argue that PTSD Avoidance is a confound for forgetting the abuse to be statistically managed. This is particularly curious since symptom 3 of Criterion C is ,inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma'. Despite constraining participant selection and other methodological issues, Lindblom and Gray's results add support to BTT. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]