PTSD symptom increases in Iraq-deployed soldiers: comparison with nondeployed soldiers and associations with baseline symptoms, deployment experiences, and postdeployment stress.
This prospective study examined: (a) the effects of Iraq War deployment versus non-deployment on pre- to postdeployment change in PTSD symptoms and (b) among deployed soldiers, associations of deployment/postdeployment stress exposures and baseline PTSD symptoms with PTSD symptom change. Seven hundred seventy-four U.S. Army soldiers completed self-report measures of stress exposure and PTSD symptom severity before and after Iraq deployment and were compared with 309 soldiers who did not deploy. Deployed soldiers, compared with non-deployed soldiers, reported increased PTSD symptom severity from Time 1 to Time 2. After controlling for baseline symptoms, deployment-related stressors contributed to longitudinal increases in PTSD symptoms. Combat severity was more strongly associated with symptom increases among active duty soldiers with higher baseline PTSD symptoms.
VA National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, and Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02130, USA. jennifer.vasterling@va.gov
Jennifer J
JJ
Vasterling
Susan P
SP
Proctor
Matthew J
MJ
Friedman
Charles W
CW
Hoge
Timothy
T
Heeren
Lynda A
LA
King
Daniel W
DW
King
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult