Health status and treatment-seeking stigma in older adults with trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder

This study compared health status across four trauma/posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) groups of older adults with depression, anxiety, and/or at-risk drinking who attended primary care appointments (N = 1,199; mean age = 73.5 yr), mostly at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals. The trauma an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rehabilitation research and development 2016-01, Vol.53 (3), p.391-402
Main Authors: Pless Kaiser, Anica, Seligowski, Antonia, Spiro, III, Avron, Chopra, Mohit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Alcoholism
Anxiety
Care and treatment
Comorbidity
Depression
Female
Health aspects
Health Status
Humans
Male
Older people
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Primary care
Quality of Life
Social aspects
Social Stigma
Stigma (Social psychology)
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - rehabilitation
Veterans
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Summary:This study compared health status across four trauma/posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) groups of older adults with depression, anxiety, and/or at-risk drinking who attended primary care appointments (N = 1,199; mean age = 73.5 yr), mostly at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals. The trauma and PTSD categories were PTSD (n = 81), partial PTSD (n = 127), trauma only (n = 323), and no trauma (n = 668). Physical and mental health-related quality of life (HQL), indices of social and economic impairment and stigma regarding treatment-seeking were compared among groups. Group differences were found for several indicators of functional impairment; the PTSD group had fewer close friends and higher treatment-seeking stigma beliefs related to having a disorder. Linear mixed modeling examined associations between trauma/PTSD group and HQL. After accounting for covariates, the trauma/PTSD groups differed across the Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 scales and component scores (indicated by significant group by scale interaction). Differences among groups were confined to mental health measures; those with PTSD had worse HQL. Post hoc analyses examined the number of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses by trauma/PTSD group. Overall, findings indicate that mental HQL varies among older adults with trauma and PTSD and that although treatment-related stigma does not differ among groups, it does affect HQL.
ISSN:0748-7711
1938-1352
DOI:10.1682/JRRD.2015.03.0039