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An investigation of the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder on physical health
Author(s) -
Wagner Amy W.,
Wolfe Jessica,
Rotnitsky Andrea,
Proctor Susan P.,
Erickson Darin J.
Publication year - 2000
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 - 10.1023/a:1007716813407
Subject(s) - stressor , posttraumatic stress , psychiatry , physical health , gulf war , public health , psychology , anxiety disorder , mental health , clinical psychology , iraq war , medicine , anxiety , nursing , political science , law , economic history , history
Abstract In a large sample of Gulf War veterans (N = 2301) we examined the relations between PTSD symptoms assessed immediately upon returning from the Gulf War and self‐reported health problems assessed 18–24 months later. PTSD symptomatology was predictive of self‐reported health problems over time for both men and women veterans, even after the effects of combat exposure were removed from the analysis. Female veterans reported significantly more health problems than male veterans, however, there was no interactive effect of gender and PTSD on health problems. These findings provide further support for the theory that psychological response to stressors impacts health outcome.