| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Psychiatric Bulletin | Advances in Psychiatric Treatment | All RCPsych Journals |
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Department of Psychological Medicine, GKT School of Medicine, London
Joint Services Command and Staff College, Watchfield
Department of Psychological Medicine, GKT School of Medicine, London
Royal Defence Medical College, Gosport
Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA
Department of Psychological Medicine, GKT School of Medicine, London
Correspondence: Dr Edgar Jones, Department of Psychological Medicine, GKT School of Medicine, 103 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RT, UK. E-mail: E.Jones{at}hogarth7.demon.co.uk
Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.
Background It has been argued that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a timeless condition, which existed before it was codified in modern diagnostic classifications but was described by different names such as ‘railway spine’ and ‘shellshock’. Others have suggested that PTSD is a novel presentation that has resulted from a modern interaction between trauma and culture.
Aims To test whether one core symptom of PTSD, the flashback, has altered in prevalence over time in soldiers subjected to the intense stress of combat.
Method Random selections were made of UK servicemen who had fought in wars from 1854 onwards and who had been awarded war pensions for post-combat disorders. These were studied to evaluate the incidence of flashbacks in defined, at-risk populations.
Results The incidence of flashbacks was significantly greater in the most recent cohort, veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War; flashbacks were conspicuous by their absence in ex-servicemen from the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.
Conclusions Although this study raises questions about changing interpretations of post-traumatic illness, it supports the hypothesis that some of the characteristics of PTSD are culture-bound. Earlier conflicts showed a greater emphasis on somatic symptoms.
Related articles in BJP:
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. C Smith, M. A K Ryan, D. L Wingard, D. J Slymen, J. F Sallis, D. Kritz-Silverstein, and for the Millennium Cohort Study Team New onset and persistent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder self reported after deployment and combat exposures: prospective population based US military cohort study BMJ, February 16, 2008; 336(7640): 366 - 371. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Ben-Ezra Dissociative symptoms after plague in the 15th century The British Journal of Psychiatry, June 1, 2005; 186(6): 543 - 543. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. P. B. Watson Flashbacks in war veterans The British Journal of Psychiatry, February 2, 2004; 184 (2): 185 - 185. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Kimbrell, M. Myers, and T. Freeman Flashbacks and PTSD in US veterans The British Journal of Psychiatry, September 1, 2003; 183 (3): 263 - 263. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Kroll Posttraumatic Symptoms and the Complexity of Responses to Trauma JAMA, August 6, 2003; 290(5): 667 - 670. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. A. Neal Flashbacks and PTSD The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003; 183(1): 75 - 75. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. M. Hambridge, E. Jones, R. H. Vermaas, C. Beech, S. Wessely, H. McCartney, I. Palmer, and K. Hyams Flashbacks and PTSD * Authors' reply The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003; 183(1): 76 - 77. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Ben-Ezra Flashbacks and PTSD The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003; 183 (1): 75 - 75. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I. P. B. Watson Flashbacks and PTSD The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 1, 2003; 183 (1): 75 - 76. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Psychiatric Bulletin | Advances in Psychiatric Treatment | All RCPsych Journals |
