Military service, combat exposure, and health in the later lives of US men

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alair Maclean ◽  
Ryan D. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
War Zone ◽  
Life Threatening Illness ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Post Traumatic

Researchers have produced mixed findings regarding the relationship between military service, war-zone deployment, combat exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and physical health at older ages.  This article uses data drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to estimate growth curve models that predict how self-rated health and life-threatening illness vary across groups of men defined as combat and non-combat veterans, compared to non-veterans.  According to the findings, combat veterans have worse health than men who did not experience combat during the draft era decades after their service, while non-combat veterans have health that is similar to if not better than non-veterans. Combat veterans were less healthy than these other men based both on a subjective measure of self-rated health and on an objective count of life-threatening illnesses several decades after service.  Studies that simply compare veterans to non-veterans may thus continue to produce mixed findings, because particular types of veterans serve in ways that relate differently to health.

scholarly journals Serious life events and post-traumatic stress disorder in the Norwegian population

BJPsych Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trond Heir ◽  
Tore Bonsaksen ◽  
Tine Grimholt ◽  
Øivind Ekeberg ◽  
Laila Skogstad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Life Threatening Illness ◽  
Norwegian Population ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Post Traumatic

Background It has been suggested that countries with more resources and better healthcare have populations with a higher risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Norway is a high-income country with good public healthcare. Aims To examine lifetime trauma exposure and the point prevalence of PTSD in the general Norwegian population. Method A survey was administered to a national probability sample of 5500 adults (aged ≥18 years). Of 4961 eligible individuals, 1792 responded (36%). Responders and non-responders did not differ significantly in age, gender or urban versus rural residence. Trauma exposure was measured using the Life Events Checklist for the DSM-5. PTSD was measured with the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5. We used the DSM-5 diagnostic guidelines to categorise participants as fulfilling the PTSD symptom criteria or not. Results At least one serious lifetime event was reported by 85% of men and 86% of women. The most common event categories were transportation accident and life-threatening illness or injury. The point prevalence of PTSD was 3.8% for men and 8.5% for women. The most common events causing PTSD were sexual and physical assaults, life-threatening illness or injury, and sudden violent deaths. Risk of PTSD increased proportionally with the number of event categories experienced. Conclusions High estimates of serious life events and correspondingly high rates of PTSD in the Norwegian population support the paradox that countries with more resources and better healthcare have higher risk of PTSD. Possible explanations are high expectations for a risk-free life and high attention to potential harmful mental health effects of serious life events. Declaration of interest None.

Prospective study of anxiety, post-traumatic stress and depression on postural control, gait, otolith and visuospatial function in military service members with persistent post-concussive symptoms

2019 ◽  
pp. 271-287
Author(s):  
◽  
Andrew Lewandowski ◽  
Lindell K. Weaver ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Injury ◽  
Postural Control ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Service Members ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
High Anxiety ◽  
Affective Symptoms ◽  
Military Service Members ◽  
Post Traumatic

Purpose: Military service members often report both affective and vestibular complaints after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), but associations between symptoms and vestibular deficits can be subtle and inconsistent. Methods: From two complementary studies, one of military service members with persistent post-concussive symptoms after mTBI (NCT01611194) and the other of adult volunteers with no history of brain injury (NCT01925963), affective symptoms were compared to postural control, gait, otolith and visuospatial function. Results: The studies enrolled 71 participants with mTBI and 75 normative controls. Participants with mTBI had significantly reduced postural equilibrium on the sensory organization test (SOT), and more so in those with high anxiety or post-traumatic stress. Cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP; oVEMP) showed prolonged latencies in mTBI participants compared to controls; oVEMPs were significantly delayed in mTBI participants with high anxiety, post-traumatic stress or depression. A subset of the mTBI group had abnormal tandem gait and high anxiety. Anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and depression did not correlate with performance on the 6-Minute Walk Test, visuospatial neuropsychological measures, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale in the mTBI group. Conclusions: In this study military service members with mTBI reported affective symptoms, concurrently with vestibular-balance concerns. Worse scores on affective measures were associated with abnormal findings on measures of postural control, gait and otolith function.

Conceptualizing Service-Related Trauma: Controversies, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Canadian Context

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany A. Beks ◽  
Sharon L. Cairns ◽  
Anusha Kassan ◽  
Kelly D. Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Canadian Context ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Post Traumatic

This article considers three perspectives that have figured prominently in the conceptualization of psychological trauma related to military service in the Canadian context—that of military institutions, that of military members, and that of counselling psychologists. A closer examination of these views reveals points of contention regarding the origins, terminology, and cultural relevance of conceptualizations of service-related trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder By drawing from theoretical, empirical, critical, and anecdotal literature, this article highlights the need for counselling psychologists to continually evolve their understanding of the broader contexts in which service-related trauma occurs and to honour military members’ knowledge of diverse sources of traumatic suffering.

scholarly journals Posttraumatic Stress During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Ayers ◽  
Elizabeth Ford
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Individual Vulnerability ◽  
Postpartum Ptsd ◽  
Pregnancy And Postpartum ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
In Pregnancy

Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in pregnancy and postpartum is relatively new but clearly demonstrates the importance of recognizing and treating women with PTSD at this time. Women with PTSD in pregnancy are at greater risk of pregnancy complications and health behaviors that have a negative impact on the woman and fetus. Approximately –3% of women develop PTSD after giving birth, and rates increase for women who have preterm or stillborn infants or life-threatening complications during pregnancy or labor. Models of the etiology of postpartum PTSD focus on the interaction among individual vulnerability, risk, and protective factors during and after birth. Research shows evidence for the role of previous psychiatric problems, depression in pregnancy, severe complications during birth, support, and women’s subjective experience of birth in postpartum PTSD. Very little research has examined screening or intervention. The chapter highlights key research topics that need addressing.

scholarly journals The Nature of Post-Traumatic Stress in Life-Threatening Diseases

Vestnik RFFI ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Natalia E. Kharlamenkova ◽  
Daria A. Nikitina
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Paranoid Ideation ◽  
Special Configuration ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Psychopathological Symptoms ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

This article presents the results of theoretical and empirical study of the psychological problems, which are arisen on the influence of high-intensity stressors on a personality. The post-traumatic stress, as a delayed complex response to a stress- or – a life-threatening disease, is considered as one of such consequences. On a sample of people (n = 39) diagnosed with meningioma (a benign tumor of the arachnoid mater), in the post-surgical period, a comprehensive psychological study was conducted using the interviewing and testing methods. The authors verified the hypothesis of a special configuration of personality characteristics and psychopathological symptoms at different levels of post-traumatic stress (PTS), caused by the reaction of the individual to the diagnosis of meningioma. The investigation demonstrates that at the high level of PTS such personality traits as depression, emotional lability, shyness and irritability are diagnosed, that are the most likely prerequisites for the development of psychopathological symptoms – depression, anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. It is concluded that the severe experience of post-traumatic stress, caused by the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, systematically manifests itself at all levels of the individual functioning – organismal, psychological and social.

scholarly journals Preeclampsia and the brain: neural control of cardiovascular changes during pregnancy and neurological outcomes of preeclampsia

2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (16) ◽  
pp. 1417-1434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar C. Logue ◽  
Eric M. George ◽  
Gene L. Bidwell
Keyword(s):  
Neural Control ◽  
Gestational Hypertension ◽  
Gravid Female ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Neurological Outcomes ◽  
Healthy Pregnancy ◽  
Fetal Birth Weight ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Baroreceptor Reflex Sensitivity ◽  
Post Traumatic

Preeclampsia (PE) is a form of gestational hypertension that complicates ∼5% of pregnancies worldwide. Over 70% of the fatal cases of PE are attributed to cerebral oedema, intracranial haemorrhage and eclampsia. The aetiology of PE originates from abnormal remodelling of the maternal spiral arteries, creating an ischaemic placenta that releases factors that drive the pathophysiology. An initial neurological outcome of PE is the absence of the autonomically regulated cardiovascular adaptations to pregnancy. PE patients exhibit sympathetic overactivation, in comparison with both normotensive pregnant and hypertensive non-pregnant females. Moreover, PE diminishes baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS) beyond that observed in healthy pregnancy. The absence of the cardiovascular adaptations to pregnancy, combined with sympathovagal imbalance and a blunted BRS leads to life-threatening neurological outcomes. Behaviourally, the increased incidences of maternal depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in PE are correlated to low fetal birth weight, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and premature birth. This review addresses these neurological consequences of PE that present in the gravid female both during and after the index pregnancy.

Falling Out of Performance: Pragmatic Breakdown in Veterans’ Storytelling

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristiana Willsey
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
The Public ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Military ◽  
War Stories ◽  
Careful Management

Unfortunately, coming to terms with disability and trauma are all too familiar foes for American combat veterans, many of whom receive inadequate, delayed, or nonexistent treatment options upon returning home. We conclude this volume with chapter 10, “Falling Out of Performance: Pragmatic Breakdown in Veterans’ Storytelling,” in which Kristiana Willsey provides new insights into the ways in which U.S. military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan make meaning and process trauma through the sharing of narratives. She argues that naturalizing the labor of narrative—by assuming stories are inherently transformative, redemptive, or unifying—obscures the responsibilities of the audience as co-authors, putting the burden on veterans to both share their experiences of war, and simultaneously scaffold those experiences for an American public that (with the ongoing privatization of the military and the ever-shifting fronts of global warfare) is increasingly alienated from its military. Importantly, Willsey asserts that the public exhortations in which veterans tell their stories in an effort to cultivate a kind of cultural catharsis can put them in an impossible position: urged to tell their war stories; necessitating the careful management of those stories for audiences uniquely historically disassociated from their wars; and then conflating the visible management of those stories with the “spoiled identity” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder and risk for suicide in combat veterans

2021 ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Herbert Hendin
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Not At Risk

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition associated with suicide in both military personnel and combat veterans. Most veterans with PTSD, however, are not at risk of suicide. The major factor distinguishing those who attempted or were preoccupied with suicide is persistent severe guilt over behaviour in combat while emotionally out of control. A 12-session short-term, psychodynamic psychotherapy, presented here in this chapter, showed promise of success in dissipating the guilt from combat-related actions in veterans of the war in Vietnam. Preliminary work with combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan indicates it may be equally successful in treating them.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders among Vietnam Combat Veterans

1982 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 593-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Keith Langley
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Life Style ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorders ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Traumatic Stress Disorders ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Vietnam Combat Veterans

The conflict in Vietnam has ceased, but for many veterans the hostilities remain in terms of problems ranging from nightmares to inability to cope with a nonhostile environment. The veterans are beginning to emerge from a postwar underground life-style to seek help; working with them requires special treatment skill and understanding.

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