Full and partial post-traumatic stress disorder among World War II prisoners of war.
BACKGROUND
The aim of the study is to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of full and partial post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 66 World War II Nazi prisoners of war, some of whom had been deported to death camps.


METHODS
The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was used to assess the presence of PTSD and major depression. The Dissociative Experiences Scale and the 58-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist were also administered. Partial PTSD was defined as the presence of at least one symptom in each of the clusters defined by DSM-IV.


RESULTS
Forty-eight percent of the subjects have a partial PTSD, while 20% reported the full syndrome. When compared to subjects with full PTSD, those with partial PTSD showed a significantly lower frequency of comorbid depression and lower levels of psychological distress, as measured by the Symptom Checklist. No differences were found with regards to dissociative symptoms and help-seeking.


CONCLUSIONS
The problem of definition of PTSD partial syndromes deserves more attention in the literature.
Favaro
Angela
A
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Tenconi
Elena
E
Colombo
Giovanni
G
Santonastaso
Paolo
P
D000368:Aged; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003209:Concentration Camps; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D047789:World War II