Role of risk factors proximate to time of trauma in the course of PTSD and MDD symptoms following traumatic injury

Abstract

Questions exist regarding whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are unique sequelae of trauma or a manifestation of a single form of psychopathology. Using latent growth modeling, we examined the role of risk factors occurring within 48 hours of the time of trauma on the course of PTSD and MDD symptoms over an 8-month period in 163 participants recruited from a level 1 surgical trauma center. Both PTSD and MDD symptoms showed peak prevalence by 1 month and significantly decreased over 7 months. Greater postinjury pain and PTSD symptoms (measured within 48 hours of trauma) predicted higher rates of both PTSD and MDD symptoms at 1 month. Other predictors were unique to each disorder. Results suggest that PTSD and MDD are related consequences of trauma.

Risk perception and emergency experience: comparing a representative German sample with German emergency survivors

“…Bryant & Harvey, 1996;Marmar et al, 1996) post-event distress that has been found in previous research (e.g. Norman et al, 2011) was further supported by the findings of this study with firefighters. The present study also supported the results of a meta-analytic review revealing no association between time since the distressing event and growth (Helgeson et al, 2006).…”

Prospective prediction of functional difficulties among recently separated Veterans

“…This is consistent with the hypothesis that these disorders may be different permeations of one underlying response to trauma (e.g., [38]). Because the correlation between PTSD and depression was so high, it was not possible to decipher whether PTSD had a unique role in functional difficulties or whether mental health problems or emotional distress more broadly, rather than PTSD specifically, play this function.…”

Patterns of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms in an epidemiological sample of Chinese earthquake survivors: A latent profile analysis

“…And in the quantitative hierarchical model of mood and anxiety disorders proposed by Watson (2005), PTSD is grouped into the subclass of distress disorders along with MDD, suggesting that PTSD and depression share identical elements of one form of psychopathology. Moreover, the bidirectional associations between PTSD and depression in their parallel courses have been found in some longitudinal studies (Dekel et al, 2014;Norman et al, 2011), which provides further evidence for a single construct embodied by PTSD and depression following trauma.…”