title: The Course and Correlates of Combat-Related PTSD in Australian Vietnam Veterans in the Three Decades After the War.
abstract: Australian male Vietnam veterans (N = 388) were assessed 22 and 36 years after their return to Australia using standardized diagnostic interviews, with added data from Army records and self-report questionnaires. Among veterans who ever had posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 50.3% had a current diagnosis at the second assessment; of those who had a current diagnosis at Wave 1, 46.9% were also current at Wave 2. Late onset occurred for 19.0% of veterans, of whom 60.8% were current at Wave 2. Multivariate analysis compared veterans with no history of PTSD (n = 231) with veterans who had ever had PTSD (n = 157) to assess risk factors for PTSD incidence; and veterans with a history, but not current PTSD (n = 78) with veterans who had current PTSD at the second assessment (n = 79) to assess risk factors for failure to remit. Incidence was associated with lower education, shorter Army training predeployment, higher combat, excess drinking, and help-seeking after return to Australia. Prevalence was associated with having a father who saw combat in World War II, being injured in battle, having a lower intelligence test score, experiencing higher combat, and having a diagnosis of phobia at the first assessment. Only combat was common to incidence and prevalence.
authors.affiliation: Brain & Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.|ANZAC Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Brian I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: O'Toole
authors.affiliation: Brain & Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.|School of Psychiatry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Stanley V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Catts
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D047829:Vietnam Conflict; D000067398:War-Related Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult