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. 2016 Feb;29(1):5-16.
doi: 10.1002/jts.22075. Epub 2016 Jan 13.

Long-Term Trajectories of PTSD in Vietnam-Era Veterans: The Course and Consequences of PTSD in Twins

Kathryn M Magruder  1   2 , Jack Goldberg  3   4 , Christopher W Forsberg  3 , Matthew J Friedman  5   6 , Brett T Litz  7   8 , Viola Vaccarino  9   10 , Patrick J Heagerty  11 , Theresa C Gleason  12 , Grant D Huang  12 , Nicholas L Smith  3   4
Affiliations

Long-Term Trajectories of PTSD in Vietnam-Era Veterans: The Course and Consequences of PTSD in Twins

Kathryn M Magruder et al. J Trauma Stress. 2016 Feb.

Abstract

We estimated the temporal course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam-era veterans using a national sample of male twins with a 20-year follow-up. The complete sample included those twins with a PTSD diagnostic assessment in 1992 and who completed a DSM-IV PTSD diagnostic assessment and a self-report PTSD checklist in 2012 (n = 4,138). Using PTSD diagnostic data, we classified veterans into 5 mutually exclusive groups, including those who never had PTSD, and 4 PTSD trajectory groups: (a) early recovery, (b) late recovery, (c) late onset, and (d) chronic. The majority of veterans remained unaffected by PTSD throughout their lives (79.05% of those with theater service, 90.85% of those with nontheater service); however, an important minority (10.50% of theater veterans, 4.45% of nontheater veterans) in 2012 had current PTSD that was either late onset (6.55% theater, 3.29% nontheater) or chronic (3.95% theater, 1.16% nontheater). The distribution of trajectories was significantly different by theater service (p < .001). PTSD remains a prominent issue for many Vietnam-era veterans, especially for those who served in Vietnam.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart for sample construction.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) trajectory and no PTSD groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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