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Long‐Term Trajectories of PTSD in Vietnam‐Era Veterans: The Course and Consequences of PTSD in Twins
Author(s) -
Magruder Kathryn M.,
Goldberg Jack,
Forsberg Christopher W.,
Friedman Matthew J.,
Litz Brett T.,
Vaccarino Viola,
Heagerty Patrick J.,
Gleason Theresa C.,
Huang Grant D.,
Smith Nicholas L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.22075
Subject(s) - posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , psychology , vietnam war , checklist , clinical psychology , service member , military personnel , political science , law , cognitive psychology
We estimated the temporal course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam‐era veterans using a national sample of male twins with a 20‐year follow‐up. The complete sample included those twins with a PTSD diagnostic assessment in 1992 and who completed a DSM‐IV PTSD diagnostic assessment and a self‐report PTSD checklist in 2012 ( n = 4,138). Using PTSD diagnostic data, we classified veterans into 5 mutually exclusive groups, including those who never had PTSD, and 4 PTSD trajectory groups: (a) early recovery, (b) late recovery, (c) late onset, and (d) chronic. The majority of veterans remained unaffected by PTSD throughout their lives (79.05% of those with theater service, 90.85% of those with nontheater service); however, an important minority (10.50% of theater veterans, 4.45% of nontheater veterans) in 2012 had current PTSD that was either late onset (6.55% theater, 3.29% nontheater) or chronic (3.95% theater, 1.16% nontheater). The distribution of trajectories was significantly different by theater service ( p < .001). PTSD remains a prominent issue for many Vietnam‐era veterans, especially for those who served in Vietnam.