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. 2025 Mar 27;25(1):455.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12604-0.

Stressful and potentially traumatic events and healthcare utilization: the 7th Tromsø survey

Jens C Thimm  1   2 , Kamilla Rognmo  3 , Ingunn Skre  3 , Catharina E A Wang  3
Affiliations

Stressful and potentially traumatic events and healthcare utilization: the 7th Tromsø survey

Jens C Thimm et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Stressful and potentially traumatic life events (SLEs/PTEs) can have a profound negative impact on the individual's mental and physical wellbeing and health. Consequently, an association of SLEs/PTEs with increased healthcare utilization has been found. However, most studies have been conducted in selected samples (e.g., veterans), and there is a paucity of studies in the general population. The present study examined the associations between SLEs/PTEs and the utilization of healthcare services in the general population using data from the seventh survey of the Tromsø study (Tromsø7).

Methods: The sample comprised 20,069 participants aged 40 years and above (52.5% female, mean age 57.3 years, SD = 11.4 years) who completed measures of SLE/PTE exposure in childhood/adolescence and adulthood (including a question about mental preoccupation with SLEs/PTEs), utilization of a variety of healthcare services (general practitioner, medical specialist, hospital, emergency room, mental health services, physiotherapist, and complementary and alternative medicine provider) in the previous year, and self-reported feeling of being anxious or depressed.

Results: The results showed that SLE/PTE exposure is associated with an increased use of all healthcare services, especially mental health professionals. Exposure to physical and emotional neglect in childhood/adolescence, violence, and sexual abuse showed the strongest associations with the utilization of mental health services. The strength of the associations with health service utilization increased with the number of SLEs/PTEs. Finally, mental preoccupation with the event(s) moderated the associations between SLE/PTE exposure and the utilization of healthcare services but not self-reported feeling of being anxious or depressed.

Conclusion: It is concluded that the prevention of SLEs/PTEs and screening for SLE/PTE exposure in healthcare services to provide trauma-informed care should be a prioritized public health focus.

Keywords: Healthcare utilization; Mental health; Population-based study; Potentially traumatic events; Stressful life events.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Regional Committee of Medical and Health Research Ethics (ref. 477677). All participants in the Tromsø7 study provided informed consent to participate. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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