PTSD Committee

Article regarding Delayed On-set of PTSD…

The abstract reprinted below references a study involving the delayed on-set of PTSD and our troops that served in Somalia. Because of copyright restrictions, we cannot reprint the entire article here or provide a direct link to the journal where the article appears.

A Longitudinal Analysis of PTSD Symptom Course: Delayed-Onset PTSD in Somalia Peacekeepers

Matt J. Gray
University of Wyoming

Elisa E. Bolton and Brett T. Litz
Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, Boston University School of Medicine, and Boston University

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) typically follows an acute to chronic course. However, some trauma victims do not report significant symptoms until a period of time has elapsed after the event. Although originally dismissed as an artifact of retrospective methodologies, recent prospective studies document apparent instances of delayed-onset PTSD. Little is known currently about factors associated with the delayed onset of PTSD. This study was designed to examine the course of PTSD in a sample of 1,040 U.S. military peacekeepers who served in Somalia. A small but nontrivial subset of participants endorsed clinically significant levels of PTSD after a period of minimal distress, the magnitude of which cannot be ascribed to minor waxing and waning of symptoms. War-zone exposure and perceived meaningfulness of the mission, as rated by soldiers after returning to the United States, predicted symptom course over the next 18 months.

In The News

7/6/2006

VVA Legislative Testimony Before the Subcommittee on PTSD of the Committee on Gulf War & Health: Physiologic, Psychologic,
And Psychosocial Effects of Deployment-Related Stress Institute of Medicine Of the
National Academy of Sciences Regarding
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Diagnosis, treatment, and Compensation

Read the latest on the IOM sub- committees No Across-the-Board Review of PTSD Cases Vietnam Veterans of America Says VA Review Will Penalize PTSD Veterans

VVA's Self-Help
Guide on PTSDPTSD Does Not Mean You're Crazy! Get the brochure in PDF format.

Study Results The results of a study entitled "Spirituality and PTSD in Vietnam Combat Veterans" can be found by clicking on the name of the study.

Special Report “Never Shall One Generation of Veterans Abandon Another…” Steve Robinson, Executive Director of the National Gulf War Resource Center*, has just released an excellent report on mental health and the military in Iraq. The report includes a great deal of information that has not received very much press coverage to date. Go to the report - Hidden Toll of the Iraq War: Mental Health and the Military