Evid Based Ment Health
February 2011
Early posttraumatic psychiatric disorders have not been well studied in disaster workers. This study examined the rates of probable acute stress disorder (ASD), probable depression, increased tobacco use, and their associated risk factors in 9/11 World Trade Center disaster workers. Surveys were obtained from 90 disaster workers (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMilitary psychiatrists are faced with multiple, difficult questions that shape the context for ethical patient care. These questions are difficult to answer and future efforts, including policy and evidence-based treatment practices, should aim at reducing the ambiguity faced by military psychiatrists. New research should focus on issues as diverse as optimal approaches to informed consent, evidence-derived approaches to protecting confidentiality, outcomes of care for individuals in widely varying military roles, and medication use in the field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe epidemiology and psychology of PTSD noted above is not often considered in neurobiological models of PTSD. Neurobiological models tend to focus on symptoms. This is an important perspective but it does not capture the brains total response to traumatic events.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The goal was to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, depression in an entry-level U.S. Army population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study examines risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and mental health care use among health care workers deployed to combat settings.
Methods: Anonymous surveys were administered to previously deployed workers at a military hospital. PTSD and depression were assessed by using the PTSD Checklist and the Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale, respectively.
Objective: The goal was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for disordered eating in an entry-level U.S. Army population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study examined rates, predictors, and course of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among seriously injured soldiers during and following hospitalization.
Method: The patients were 613 U.S.
Objective: This study examined probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and probable depression, degree of psychological distress, and rates of mental health treatment in a sample of Pentagon staff two years after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
Methods: Anonymous surveys were administered to staff at one Pentagon work center. Respondents were asked about exposure to the attack; injuries; exposure to dead bodies or families of the deceased; psychological distress; and use of mental health services.
Objective: This study assessed the stress reactions of a submarine crew forced to abandon their vessel in high seas after flooding and fire damaged their ship.
Methods: The remaining crew members (n = 22) were surveyed 7 months after the incident regarding exposures, initial emotional responses, peritraumatic dissociation, subsequent life events, current safety appraisal, and current symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression.
Results: At 7 months, 9.
This study assessed relationships between exposure to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), current major depression, and current safety perceptions in a sample of 212 Pentagon staff members 13 months after the attack. Forty-eight respondents (23 percent) had possible PTSD; eight (4 percent) had probable major depression. Respondents who were directly exposed to the attack were more likely to have PTSD and major depression and were less likely to have a perception of safety at work and in usual activities and travel only.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This study examined emotional and behavioral effects on hospital staff after a series of sniper shootings in the Washington, D.C., area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The authors examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use, and perceptions of safety in a sample of survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon.
Methods: Analyses were conducted to examine the effect of past traumatic experience, trauma exposure, initial emotional response, and peritraumatic dissociation on probable PTSD, substance use, and perceived safety among 77 survivors seven months after the attack.
Results: Eleven respondents (14 percent) had PTSD.
This study examined changes in the pharmacologic treatment of 70 patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder at some time during a six-year period. An increasing use of divalproex sodium and atypical antipsychotics instead of lithium and conventional antipsychotics was observed. The use of a combination of an antipsychotic and a thymoleptic medication was more common than monotherapy, and physicians tended to continue antidepressants if patients had a history of depression.
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