@article{ref1,
title="Trauma and current symptoms of PTSD in a South East London community",
journal="Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology",
year="2013",
author="Frissa, Souci and Hatch, Stephani L. and Gazard, Billy and Fear, Nicola T. and Hotopf, Matthew",
volume="48",
number="8",
pages="1199-1209",
abstract="PURPOSE: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its association with traumatic events in a representative sample of an inner city population in the UK. METHODS: A representative community sample of 1,698 adults, aged 16 years and over, from two south London boroughs were interviewed face to face with structured survey questionnaires. RESULTS: The prevalence of current symptoms of PTSD was 5.5 %. Women were more likely to screen positive (6.4 %) than men (3.6 %), and symptoms of PTSD were high in the unemployed (12.5 %), in those not working because of health reasons (18.2 %) and in the lowest household income group (14.8 %). Most (78.2 %) of the study population had lifetime trauma and more than a third (39.7 %) reported childhood trauma. There was an independent association between childhood as well as lifetime trauma and current symptoms of PTSD and a gradient association between an increase in cumulative traumatic events and the likelihood of reporting symptoms of current PTSD (OR 1.8, 95 % CI (1.6-2.1)). Although we observed the highest prevalence of current symptoms of PTSD in those migrated for asylum or political reason (13.6 %), compared to the non-migrants, the prevalence of exposure to most traumatic life events was higher in the non-migrant group. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates the high prevalence of exposure to trauma in a South East London community and the cumulative effect on current symptoms of PTSD. As PTSD is a condition which is associated with disability and co-morbidity, the association of current PTSD with common adversities in the community should be noted.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0933-7954",
doi="10.1007/s00127-013-0689-8",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0689-8"
}