title: Predictors of the new criteria for probable PTSD among older adults.
abstract: The definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) changed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) and it is yet unclear how these changes affect the diagnosis of PTSD among older adults. The present study examined the contribution of demographic characteristics, functioning status, health related factors, as well as exposure to rocket attacks to prediction of probable PTSD in older adults. Three-hundred and thirty-nine community-dwelling adults (age range 50-90; M=65.44, SD=9.77) were sampled through random dialing to Jewish residents in the south of Israel. Participants completed a phone-questionnaire that collected background information and reports of relevant symptoms. Analyses showed that self-rated health, incidence of depression episodes, and exposure to rocket attacks predicted the DSM-5 definition of PTSD as well as the subscale of negative alternations in cognition and mood. The current study delineates the unique set of predictors of probable PTSD in older adults, with an emphasis on negative alternations in cognition and mood. Greater attention to unique predictors of PTSD in the second half of life is called for.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, The Center for Research and Study of Aging, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, 199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Mount Carmel, Haifa 3498838, Israel. Electronic address: ypalgi@research.haifa.ac.il.
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Palgi
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: DSM-5; Negative alternations in cognition and mood; Older adults; PTSD