Am J Psychiatry 1993; 150:240-245
Copyright © 1993 by American Psychiatric Association
Psychopathology and psychiatric diagnoses of World War II Pacific theater prisoner of war survivors and combat veterans
PB Sutker, AN Allain Jr and DK Winstead
VA Medical Center, New Orleans, LA 70146.
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed current and long-term psychological and
psychiatric sequelae of war trauma in World War II Pacific theater combat
veterans, some of whom had been Japanese prisoners of war (POWs). METHOD: A
group of 36 POW survivors and a group of 29 combat veterans, all of whom
had seen fierce fighting and heavy unit casualties, were compared
approximately 40 years later on psychological instruments assessing
psychopathology constructs, negative mood states, and symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and on the computer-administered
National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule. RESULTS:
Although similar in personal backgrounds and in having suffered
catastrophic war trauma, the two groups differed in the severity and type
of psychiatric symptoms and in the occurrence of psychiatric disorders.
Anxiety and depressive disorders were common in both groups, but there were
differences in the frequency of PTSD diagnoses. Among the POW survivors,
70% fulfilled the criteria for a current diagnosis and 78% for a lifetime
diagnosis of PTSD, compared to 18% and 29%, respectively, of the combat
veterans. CONCLUSIONS: The findings point to the persistent nature of
symptoms thought to be residuals of extraordinary stress and the relation
between severity of psychiatric sequelae and characteristics of the
stressors.
