Psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity following accidental man-made traumatic events: incidence and risk factors.

UNLABELLED: The aims of this study were to examine the incidence and risk factors of major depression, bipolar disorder, psychoactive substance use, psychotic and anxiety disorders in relation to post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) in a study group exposed to two different traumatic events, i.e. 128 fire and 55 motor vehicle accident victims. Data have been collected 7-9 months after the traumatic event. The diagnosis of axis-I diagnoses, other than PTSD, was made according to DSM-III-R criteria using the Structured Interview according to the DSM-III-R. The incidence of new-onset major depression was 13.4%, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) 12.6 %, agoraphobia 10.2% and psychoactive substance use disorders 6%. Simple phobia, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder had a much lower incidence (< 2.0%). Fifty-one percent of the victims with PTSD had one or more additional axis-I diagnoses, major depression (26.2%), agoraphobia (21.0%) and generalised anxiety disorder (24.6 %) being the most common. Physical injury was the single best predictor for major depression. The best predictors for the development of new-onset anxiety disorders, other than PTSD, were: type and horror of the trauma, the extent of physical injury, the loss of control during the traumatic event, contextual stimuli, younger age and female sex. IN
CONCLUSION: comorbid disorders, such as depression, GAD and agoraphobia, commonly occur within the first few months after man-made accidental traumata. Trauma variables, which are known to be related to the development of PTSD, are also related to the occurrence of these comorbid disorders.