A comparison of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans with and without spinal cord injury.

Abstract

The authors assessed effects of paraplegic and quadriplegic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by comparing severity and prevalence of PTSD in these groups to a sample of controls who experienced traumatic injuries other than SCI. The authors found that veterans with quadriplegia reported significantly less severe current PTSD symptoms than controls who were not significantly different from veterans with paraplegia. These results suggest that sustaining a quadriplegic SCI decreases risk of current PTSD, whereas sustaining a paraplegic SCI is associated with greater risk of PTSD, although the risk is no greater than that incurred from experiencing the trauma itself.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and emotional distress in persons with spinal cord lesion

“…11 The present study however did not find a significant relation between prevalence of PTSD and time since lesion. On the other hand, the time span is very small in the present study compared with the study by Radnitz et al 25 The patients in the present study ranged from 20 days to almost 1 year since the time of lesion. During this time, the patients experienced a number of secondary events, including (i) severe lesion to the spinal cord, (ii) hospitalization and in some cases transfer to another hospital to undergo surgery, and (iii) transfer to a rehabilitation centre.…”

“…11 Also, compared with a study of adult veterans with SCL, the prevalence rate in the present study is relatively high. Radnitz et al 7,8,25 found that 11.9% of 126 male veterans with SCL met the diagnosis for current PTSD, an average of 18.8 years following lesion. Based on a survival analysis, Kessler et al 11 found that two-thirds of their sample who had experienced onset of PTSD succeeded to remit.…”

“…7 In addition, considerably fewer tetraplegics than paraplegics are reported to suffer from PTSD. 8,9 Biological or physiological determinants may contribute to the differences in psychological reactions. [8][9][10] High rates of comorbidity between PTSD and depression have been reported in female victims of partner violence, as well as in Israeli and Vietnam veterans.…”

“…8,9 Biological or physiological determinants may contribute to the differences in psychological reactions. [8][9][10] High rates of comorbidity between PTSD and depression have been reported in female victims of partner violence, as well as in Israeli and Vietnam veterans. [11][12][13] Furthermore, depression has been found to be the most common comorbid disorder in victims of fire and motor vehicle accidents diagnosed with PTSD.…”

Evaluation of post traumatic distress in the first 6 months following SCI

“…Fifty per cent of a sample questioned after experiencing a medical accident received high distress scores on the intrusion subscale of the IES and 15% for the avoidance subscale. 7 In a sample of people with SCI, Radnitz et al 30 found that 28% of their sample displayed high scores on at least two of the three characteristic symptoms of PTSD as measured on the IES (re-experiencing the trauma, avoiding trauma related stimuli and persistent increased arousal) and that 12% met the more stringent diagnostic criteria for both the SCID and CAPS. In the present sample 20% reached the cut-o on the intrusion scale and 22.4% reached the cut-o on the avoidance scale, with 14% being above the cuto for both.…”