Long-term follow-up (32 Years) of PTSD in Israeli Yom Kippur War veterans.

The Yom Kippur War came as a major shock to the confidence and stability of the national psyche in Israel, and it may be suggested that the incidence of associated psychological trauma at least in war veterans may be more profound and long-standing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the presence of PTSD in a naturalistic cohort of Yom Kippur veterans 32 years after the war managed for PTSD in a specialized unit during the war. Results indicated that of the 277 (20.9%) initial battle front-injured referred for evaluation who were diagnosed with PTSD, 32 years later only 19 war veterans were still suffering with PTSD (6.85% of the PTSD subpopulation or 1.43% of the original injured combat veteran cohort). Results from this long-term follow-up study indicate a low incidence of chronic symptomatology that may be accounted for by the nature of the initial care, follow-up, and subpopulation investigated.