From U Southern Denmark: Predicting Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Bereaved Relatives

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23687214

Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2013 May 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Predicting Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Bereaved Relatives: A 6-Month Follow-Up Study.

Kristensen TE, Elklit A, Karstoft KI, Palic S.

Source

1National Centre for Psychotraumatology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej, Denmark.

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to examine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to identify predicative risk factors for PTSD in bereaved people after a terminal illness. Fifty-four persons (mean age 60 years) participated in the study. Demographic, peritraumatic, and psychosocial factors were assessed in order to identify variables that affected PTSD severity. Six months after the loss, 21.6 % of the subjects had PTSD, an 8.6 % decrease from PTSD measured one month after the loss. Intake of medicine after the loss, place of death, not having a close intimate, negative affectivity, and the A2 criterion predicted 65 % of PTSD severity. A considerable number of the bereaved were still at great risk for developing PTSD six months after loss.