ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre

ABSTRACT

Background Hundreds of individuals lost one or more significant others in the MH17 plane crash in 2014 in Ukraine. The current study is the first to explore subgroups of disaster-bereaved individuals based on presence of psychopathology clusters. This may inform the development of diagnostic instruments and tailored interventions.

The first studies on migration and mental health focused primarily on immigration in the Unites States in the beginning of the 20th century. Higher levels of mental health problems or “insanity” were observed among migrants as compared to host populations. Selective migration of mentally ill people was understood to explain this difference. Although hypomanic traits such as impulsiveness, extraversion and risk seeking behaviour may seem to predispose individuals to emigrate, the so-called selective migration hypothesis has never been empirically supported.

Little is known about how age and gender are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and traumatic experiences in treatment-seeking police offers. In this study, we examined 967 diagnostic files of police officers seeking treatment for PTSD. Six hundred twelve (63%) of the referred police officers were diagnosed with PTSD (n = 560) or partial PTSD (n = 52). Police officers reported on average 19.5 different types of traumatic events (range 1-43). Those who experienced a greater variety of traumatic events suffered from more PTSD symptoms.

Military personnel have an increased risk of developing stressrelated mental health problems after deployment to a combat zone [1]. In order to decrease the risk of developing stress-related disorders, biological vulnerability and protective factors should be identified. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide transmitter that is associated with modulation of the stress response. Previous studies reported reduced NPY levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [2].

Rationale: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition that can develop after experiencing a traumatic event. Although effective treatment is available, including exposure therapy or cognitive behavioural therapy, about 30% of patients with PTSD do not respond to these treatments. Therefore, currently available treatments need to be improved. Intranasal administration of the neuropeptide oxytocin is a promising candidate for medication-enhanced psychotherapy (MEP), as oxytocin has been shown to increase sensitivity for social reward.

As posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in approximately 10% of trauma-exposed individuals, there is an urgent need for effective preventive interventions for PTSD [1]. Oxytocin administration was previously found to beneficially influence neurobiological and socio-emotional factors associated with increased PTSD risk [e.g. 2, 3]. Therefore, we hypothesized that intranasal oxytocin administration early post-trauma in trauma-exposed individuals could prevent PTSD development .

Dückers et al analyse the relationship between prevalence estimates of trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in published data-sets from 24 countries, and between PTSD and vulnerability (based on a country vulnerability index developed in the 2013 World Risk report). The findings are substantially counterintuitive; countries with low vulnerability have higher life-time rates of PTSD, meaning that countries with low vulnerability and high trauma exposure have the highest rates of lifetime PTSD.

Millions of volunteers respond after disasters, with a 24% to 46% risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is unclear which symptom trajectories develop and how they differ between core (volunteering before the disaster) and noncore volunteers (joining after the disaster) and which factors predict trajectories. Symptoms of PTSD were assessed at 6-, 12-, and 18-months postearthquake in 449 volunteers in Indonesia.

Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, was the beautiful location of the 14th Conference of the European Society of Traumatic Stress studies (ESTSS) from June 10 to 13, 2015. The main theme of this two-yearly conference was “Trauma in changing societies: social contexts and clinical practice.” The topic of the conference is timely, unfortunately. The current crisis in Syria changed (and is still changing) societies, especially in the Middle East.