title: Comorbidity of the posttraumatic stress disorder and the depression in ex-prisoners of war.
abstract: The interest in investigating the war related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased both in the world and in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) over the last decades. Extensive literature indicates the association between PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. The most frequent disorders associated with PTSD are: depression, anxiety disorder and the abuse of psychoactive substances and alcohol. Some studies show that the depression is the most frequent disorder which follows PTSD. We studied the comorbidity of PTSD and depression in ex-war prisoners and in war veterans five years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study sample was divided into two groups. The first group is composed of 100 ex-prisoners of war, and the second one consists of 60 war veterans who were not confined in camps. The questionnaires under the criteria DSM IV were used to diagnose PTSD and depression. All the respondents were males and all of them were in good health before the war. The results obtained show a statistically significant higher representation of PTSD and depression in the prisoners of war as compared with the war veterans at the level of p<0.05. We also found a significant association of PTSD and depression, both in the prisoners of war and in the war veterans, however, there is no statistically signifficant difference between the studied groups.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Hospital Mostar, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine at the University of Mostar, 88 000 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dragan.babic@tel.net.ba.
authors.forename: Dragan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Babić
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sinanović
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pavlović
authors.forename: Miro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klarić
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maslov