title: Posttraumatic stress disorder after pre-eclampsia: an exploratory study.
abstract: Information about the psychological sequelae of pre-eclampsia (PE) is scarce. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop after exposure to a stress condition. This study explored whether PE predisposes to PTSD in patients and their partners. Primiparas with a recent history of preterm PE (n=18), preterm birth (PT; n=29), term PE (n=23), or uneventful term birth (C; n=43), and most of their partners completed questionnaires measuring PTSD, depression and related psychological factors. About one-fourth of patients developed PTSD after preterm PE as well as after PT. It occurred in 17% after term PE and in none of the control subjects. A substantial minority of partners was also affected. PTSD symptoms were strongly related to individual psychological characteristics (peritraumatic dissociation, negative interpretations of symptoms, and thought suppression) rather than to objective indicators of condition-severity. The data suggest that PE predisposes to PTSD, primarily but not exclusively resulting from concomitant preterm birth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. i.engelhard@dep.unimaas.nl
authors.forename: Iris M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Engelhard
authors.forename: Maartje
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Rij
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Boullart
authors.forename: Timo H A
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Ekhart
authors.forename: Mark E A
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Spaanderman
authors.forename: Marcel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van den Hout
authors.forename: Louis L H
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Peeters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires