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Post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity in service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with different types of injuries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2012

Robert N. McLay ,
Jennifer Webb-Murphy ,
Paul Hammer ,
Stacy Volkert  and
Warren Klam
Robert N. McLay*
Affiliation:
Naval Medical Center San Diego, Department of Mental Health, San Diego, California, USA
Jennifer Webb-Murphy
Affiliation:
Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control, San Diego, California, USA
Paul Hammer
Affiliation:
Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control, San Diego, California, USA
Stacy Volkert
Affiliation:
Naval Medical Center San Diego, Department of Mental Health, San Diego, California, USA
Warren Klam
Affiliation:
Naval Medical Center San Diego, Department of Mental Health, San Diego, California, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Robert N. McLay, MD, PhD, Naval Medical Center San Diego, Mental Health Services, 34800 Bob Wilson Drive, San Diego, CA 92134, USA. Email robert.mclay@med.navy.mil
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Abstract

Introduction

Risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) varies in part due to the nature of the traumatic event involved. Both injury and return from combat pose high risk of PTSD symptoms. How different injuries may predispose towards PTSD is less well understood.

Methods

A retrospective record review was conducted from 1402 service members who had returned to Naval Medical Center San Diego from Iraq or Afghanistan and who had completed the PTSD Checklist as part of their post-deployment screening. Rates of PTSD were examined in relation to mechanism of injury.

Results

Of those without injury, 8% met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual criteria for PTSD. Thirteen percent of those with a penetrating injury, 29% with blunt trauma, and 33% with combination injuries met criteria for PTSD. PTSD severity scores varied significantly according to type of injury.

Discussion

The World War I concept of “shell shock” implied that blast-related injuries were more likely to result in psychological symptoms than were other injuries. These data may support that idea. Circumstance of injury, population differences, and reporting bias could also have influenced the results.

Conclusion

These results suggest that service members with blunt or combination injuries merit particular attention when screening for PTSD.

Keywords

AfghanistanepidemiologyinjuryIraqPTSDtraumatic brain injury
Type
Original Research Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , 26 April 2012 , pp. 11 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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Footnotes

The authors thank Waine MacAllister for editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Navy, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, or any other U.S. government agency.

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