A Longitudinal and Retrospective Study of PTSD Among Older Prisoners of War

Abstract

Both longitudinal and retrospective data support a PTSD symptom pattern of immediate onset and gradual decline, followed by increasing PTSD symptom levels among older survivors of remote trauma.

Review of assessment and treatment of PTSD among elderly American armed forces veterans

“…Port and associates (2001) conducted a four-year longitudinal study of PTSD symptomatology among WWII and Korean War ex-POWs and also examined retrospective reports of the course of post-war symptoms. Results suggested a pattern of fluctuating symptoms across the lifespan, with symptomatology being highest for this sample shortly after the trauma, declining in ensuing years, and then increasing as individuals entered later life (Port et al, 2001). POWs often differ in severity of symptoms from other combat veterans.…”

“…PTSD symptoms may appear when the individual is faced with life events such as retirement, loss of a loved one, diminished sensory capabilities, mobility problems, isolation, cognitive impairment, institutionalization, increased interaction with medical facilities, and ill health (Hermann and Eryavec, 1994;Kaup et al, 1994;Molinari and Williams, 1995;Snell and Padin-Rivera, 1997;Cook, 2001). One study with ex-POWs from WWII and Korea indicated that a relationship exists between higher levels of PTSD and greater numbers of negative health changes, lower social support, and lower death acceptance (Port et al, 2001). Some authors (Macleod, 1994) purport that PTSD may be reactivated by similarities between ill health and the stress of wartime.…”

Vulnerability to post‐traumatic stress disorder and psychological morbidity in aged holocaust survivors

“…The higher rates of psychological morbidity and PTSD when HS were compared with age-matched control groups demonstrate that this is not merely an effect of ageing per se (Joffe et al, 2003). The long-term effects of severe trauma have been documented in Holocaust survivors (Tuteur, 1966;Niederland, 1968;Nadler and Ben-Shushan, 1989;Robinson et al, 1990;Kuch and Cox, 1992;Silow, 1993;Yehuda et al, 1994;Yehuda et al, 1995) as well as in other groups of survivors of other severe trauma with rates of between 28 and 56% of anxiety, depression or PTSD reported in veterans or prisoners of war (POWs) 40-50 years later (Tennant et al, 1986;Port et al, 2001;Dirkzwager et al, 2001). We cannot be certain whether the high rate of PTSD reported here reflects chronicity or a reawakening by current or recent circumstances (Christenson et al, 1981;Eaton et al, 1982;Op den Velde et al, 1993).…”

Posttraumatic stress disorder in older people after a fall

“…A large-scale epidemiological study found that the 6-month prevalence of PTSD and subthreshold PTSD among older people in the general population was 0.9% and 13.1% respectively (van Zelst et al, 2003). While one study showed that these symptoms declined over time (from 27-17% 6 months after the sudden and traumatic loss of a spouse) (Elklit and O'Connor, 2005), another study showed that PTSD symptoms were highest shortly after the trauma but declined and increased intermittently over decades (Port et al, 2001). To accompany PTSD symptoms, older people also experience a whole range of psychiatric comorbidity.…”