Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in health care workers exposed to a disaster, in order to facilitate early case identification and prevention of subsequent morbidity.

METHOD:

Comment on

• Acute stress facilitates long-lasting changes in cholinergic gene expression. [Nature. 1998]
•  
• Warfare leaves residues — charred remnants of what were villages, carpet-bombed moonscapes of what were rainforests, and cemeteries filled with what were 20-year-olds. These residues can include disease, such as shell shock, combat fatigue and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the onset, overlap, and course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression following traumatic events.

METHOD:

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Using the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for acute stress disorder, the authors examined whether the acute psychological effects of being a bystander to violence involving mass shootings in an office building predicted later posttraumatic stress symptoms.

METHOD:

The participants in this study were 36 employees working in an office building where a gunman shot 14 persons (eight fatally). The acute stress symptoms were assessed within 8 days of the event, and posttraumatic stress symptoms of 32 employees were assessed 7 to 10 months later.