Post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic disease: open questions and future directions

Excerpt

A large body of research has now firmly established that traumatic events, such as natural disasters, combat, sexual assault, and child abuse, are frequent occurrences throughout the world and that there are substantial consequences of traumatic event experiences. In most countries, the majority of adults report exposure to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime [1]. PTSD, the paradigmatic stress-related mental disorder, emerges in some persons in response to an unpredictable and uncontrollable traumatic event. PTSD is common with lifetime estimates ranging from 1.7 % in South Korea to 8.8 % in Northern Ireland, and past-year prevalences from a high of 3.8 % in Northern Ireland to a low of 0.2 % in China [2]. Separately, evidence shows that persons who experience traumatic events are more likely to report cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and other physical illness [3]. …