Citation

Byrne SP, Harpaz-Rotem I, Tsai J, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH. Psychiatry Res. 2018; 273: 266-273.

Affiliation

Clinical Neurosciences Division, Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD, West Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.094

PMID

30658212

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a heterogeneous condition that can be characterized by unique typologies of symptoms. To date, no study has examined predominant PTSD typologies using DSM-5 criteria. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify typologies of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in 158 U.S. veterans who screened positive for this condition. A three-class solution provided the best fit to the data, described as Dysphoric (36.2%), High Symptom (34.0%) and Threat (29.8%). The Threat class had higher probabilities of intrusions and avoidance compared to the Dysphoric class; the Dysphoric class had higher probabilities of negative affect, anhedonia and externalizing behavior relative to Threat; the High Symptom class had high probabilities of all symptoms. Compared to the Threat class, the Dysphoric class was more likely to have a lifetime history of major depressive, alcohol and drug use disorders; the High Symptom class was more likely to have a lifetime history of alcohol, drug, and nicotine use disorder, current generalized anxiety, or to have attempted or currently contemplated suicide. The High Symptom class reported greater mental, physical and cognitive impairment and lower quality of life. These findings underscore the importance of a personalized approach to the assessment and treatment of DSM-5 PTSD.

Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Dysphoric; High symptom; Latent class analysis; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Threat; Typology