Posttraumatic stress disorder and health-related quality of life among a sample of treatment- and pension-seeking deployed Canadian Forces peacekeeping veterans.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in deployed Canadian Forces peacekeeping veterans, addressing associations with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression severity.


METHODS
Participants (n = 125) were consecutive male veterans who were referred for a psychiatric assessment. Instruments administered included the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, Short-Form-36 Health Survey, and sociodemographic characteristics.


RESULTS
Mental HRQOL was significantly lower for peacekeepers with, than without, PTSD. Using univariate analyses, PTSD and depression severity were each significantly negatively related to mental HRQOL. In sequential regression analyses controlling for age, we found that PTSD and depression severity significantly predicted both mental and physical HRQOL.


CONCLUSIONS
Veterans with PTSD have significant impairments in mental and physical HRQOL. This information is useful for clinicians and Veterans Affairs administrators working with the newer generation of veterans, as it stresses the importance of including measures of quality of life in the psychiatric evaluation of veterans to better address their rehabilitation needs.
Richardson
J Don
JD
Department of Psychiatry, Univeristy of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. Don.Richardson@sjhc.london.on.ca
Long
Mary E
ME
Pedlar
David
D
Elhai
Jon D
JD
D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010415:Pensions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012179:Retirement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*