Severity of Injury Determines Risk of PTSD in Wounded Soldiers

A study of U.S. Soldiers seriously wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan published in the October 2006 issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry shows the severity of an injury one month after its occurrence determines the likelihood of a soldier developing Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PSTD) or depression in later months.

Soldiers were screened at one, four and seven months following the injury. Rates for PTSD and depression respectively were 4.2% and 4.4% at one month, 12.2% and 8.9% at four months and 12% and 9.3% at seven months. However, 78% of those who with PTSD or depression at seven months had not met criteria for either condition at one month.

Results showed that the severity of disability of the injury at one-mont determined the likelihood of developing the disorders later, with personal judgments about the level of impairment having the greatest impact on later feelings.

Additionally, the study found soldiers with high combat exposure were 4.8 times as likely to suffer from PTSD at one month than soldiers with low combat exposure, although this did not increase their chances of depression or PTSD at four or seven months.

FULL TEXT: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression in Battle-Injured Soldiers (PDF)