Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6811139 | Psychiatry Research | 2018 | 27 Pages |
Abstract
Childhood abuse and PTSD are independently associated with severe psychiatric comorbidity. We hypothesized that among patients with adult-onset PTSD, a history of child abuse was associated with increased prevalence and severity of comorbid mental disorders. Participants were 109 adult treatment-seeking patients, 23.9% of whom had a history of childhood sexual, physical or emotional abuse. The socio-demographic characteristics and comorbidity profile of PTSD patients with and without history of child abuse were compared using the two-tailed t-test and the chi-square test. PTSD patients with a history of child abuse had significantly higher average PCL-C hyperarousal [21.8 (SDâ¯=â¯3.6) vs 19.8 (SDâ¯=â¯3.5)] and BDI [35.7 (SDâ¯=â¯9.2) vs 29.1 (SDâ¯=â¯13.9)] scores, a significantly increased average number of lifetime [4.85 (SDâ¯=â¯1.43) vs 3.93 (SDâ¯=â¯1.33)] and current [4.46 (SDâ¯=â¯1.24) vs 3.75 (SDâ¯=â¯1.32)] comorbid disorders, and a greater prevalence of lifetime (73.1% vs 44.6%) and current (79.2% vs 46.7%) panic disorder/agoraphobia and of psychotic symptoms (73.1% vs 30.1%). All effect sizes were in the medium to large range. Adult-onset PTSD patients with a history of child abuse may represent a subgroup with a more severe form of the disorder that is associated with a more serious clinical course, treatment resistance and poorer outcome.
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Authors
Márcio Gekker, Evandro Silva Freire Coutinho, William Berger, Mariana Pires da Luz, Alexandre Xavier Gomes de Araújo, Luiz Felipe Araújo da Costa Pagotto, Carla Marques-Portella, Ivan Figueira, Mauro Vitor Mendlowicz,