title: Trauma exposure characteristics, past traumatic life events, coping strategies, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychiatric comorbidity among people with anaphylactic shock experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the interrelationship between trauma exposure characteristics, past traumatic life events, coping strategies, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and psychiatric comorbidity among people after anaphylactic shock experience.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design was cross-sectional in that 94 people with anaphylactic shock experience responded to a postal survey. They completed the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, the General Health Questionnaire 28, and the COPE Scale. They also answered questions on trauma exposure characteristics. The control group comprised 83 people without anaphylaxis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve percent of people with anaphylactic shock experience fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for full PTSD. As a group, people with anaphylaxis reported significantly more past traumatic life events and psychiatric comorbidity than did the control. Partial least squares analysis showed that trauma exposure characteristics influenced postanaphylactic shock PTSD symptoms and psychiatric comorbidity, which, in turn, influenced coping strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People could develop PTSD and psychiatric comorbidity symptoms after their experience of anaphylactic shock. The way they coped with anaphylactic shock was affected by the severity of these symptoms. Past traumatic life events had a limited role to play in influencing outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Zayed University, Natural Science and Public Health, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. man.chung@zu.ac.ae
authors.forename: Man Cheung
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Aisling
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dennis
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires