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Commentary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Leigh A. Neal
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It is a sobering fact that the average age of the surviving veterans of the Second World War is now close to 80 years. The available information indicates that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in all Second World War veterans is slightly higher than the 15% lifetime prevalence found in Vietnam War veterans, although there are few reliable studies on which to base this conclusion. It is, however, consistent with the finding that combat stress, based on casualty rates, during periods of the Vietnam War was equivalent to the severity of combat stress in the Second World War. There are several epidemiological studies (Beebe, 1975; Tennant et al, 1986) of more specific Second World War veteran groups such as Far East prisoners of war and, predictably, they show higher PTSD prevalence rates, ranging between 30 and 50%.

Type
Article Commentary
Information
Advances in Psychiatric Treatment , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , July 1998 , pp. 217 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 1998 

References

Beebe, G. W. (1975) Follow-up studies of World War II and Korean War prisoners. American Journal of Epidemiology, 101, 400–422.Google Scholar
Neal, L. A., Shapland, W. & Fox, G. (1997) an open trial of moclobemide in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 12, 231–237.Google Scholar
Southwick, S. M., Morgan, C. A., Nicolaou, A. L. et al (1997) Consistency of memory for combat-related traumatic events in veterans of Operation Desert Storm. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 173–184.Google Scholar
Tennant, C., Goulston, D. & Dent, O. (1986) Clinical psychiatric illness in prisoners of war of the Japanese; 40 years after release. Psychological Medicine, 16, 833–839.Google Scholar
War Pensions Agency (1997) Notes For People Getting a War Pension Living in the United Kingdom. War Pensions Agency Leaflet 2. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
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