One-year prospective follow-up of motor vehicle accident victims.
One-hundred and thirty-two victims of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), who sought medical attention as a result of the MVA, were assessed at three points in time: 1-4 months post-MVA, 6 months later, and 12 months later. Of the 48 who met the full criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) initially, half had remitted at least in part by the 6-month follow-up point and two-thirds had remitted by the 1-yr follow-up. Using logistic regression, 3 variables combined to correctly identify 79% of remitters and non-remitters at the 12-month follow-up point: initial scores on the irritability and foreshortened future symptoms of PTSD and the initial degree of vulnerability the subject felt in a motor vehicle after the MVA. Four variables combined to predict 64% of the variance in the degree of post-traumatic stress symptoms at 12 months: presence of alcohol abuse and/or an Axis-II disorder at the time of the initial assessment as well as the total scores on the hyperarousal and on avoidance symptoms of PTSD present at the initial post-MVA assessment.
Blanchard
E B
EB
Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders, University at Albany-SUNY 12203, USA.
Hickling
E J
EJ
Barton
K A
KA
Taylor
A E
AE
Loos
W R
WR
Jones-Alexander
J
J
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*