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| Research article summary (published 30 Jan 2003): |
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Flashbacks and post-traumatic stress disorder: the genesis of a 20th-century diagnosis.
Full Abstract
BACKGROUND:
It has been argued that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a timeless condition, which existed before it was codified in modern diagnostic classifications but was described by different names such as 'railway spine' and 'shellshock'. Others have suggested that PTSD is a novel presentation that has resulted from a modern interaction between trauma and culture.
AIMS:
To test whether one core symptom of PTSD, the flashback, has altered in prevalence over time in soldiers subjected to the intense stress of combat.
METHOD:
Random selections were made of UK servicemen who had fought in wars from 1854 onwards and who had been awarded war pensions for post-combat disorders. These were studied to evaluate the incidence of flashbacks in defined, at-risk populations.
RESULTS:
The incidence of flashbacks was significantly greater in the most recent cohort, veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War; flashbacks were conspicuous by their absence in ex-servicemen from the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.
CONCLUSIONS:
Although this study raises questions about changing interpretations of post-traumatic illness, it supports the hypothesis that some of the characteristics of PTSD are culture-bound. Earlier conflicts showed a greater emphasis on somatic symptoms.
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Author information
Author/s: Jones, Edgar (E); Vermaas, Robert Hodgins (RH); McCartney, Helen (H); Beech, Charlotte (C); Palmer, Ian (I); Hyams, Kenneth (K); Wessely, Simon (S);
Affiliation: Department of Psychological Medicine, GKT School of Medicine, London, UK. E.Jones(-atsign-)hogarth7.demon.co.uk
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Journal: The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science (Br J Psychiatry), published in England. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 182 (issue ) : pp 158-63
Dates: Created 2003/02/03; Completed 2003/03/13; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12562745, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
Comments and Corrections
CommentIn: Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;183:75-6; author reply 76-7. (PMID: 12835249)
CommentIn: Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;183:75; author reply 76-7. (PMID: 12835248)
CommentIn: Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;183:75; author reply 76-7. (PMID: 12835250)
CommentIn: Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;183:76; author reply 76-7. (PMID: 12835251)
CommentIn: Br J Psychiatry. 2003 Sep;183:263. (PMID: 12949004)
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