The burden of full and subsyndromal posttraumatic stress disorder among police involved in the World Trade Center rescue and recovery effort

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bromet EJ ; Crane M ; Harrison D ; Herbert R ; Katz CL ; Landrigan, Philip J. ; Levin SM ; Luft BJ ; Moline JM ; Ozbay F ; Pietrzak RH ; Reissman, Dori B. ; Schechter CB ; Sharma V ; Southwick SM ; Stellman JM ; Udasin IG
  More +
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: This study examined the prevalence, correlates, and perceived mental healthcare needs associated with subsyndromal PTSD in police involved in the World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery effort. METHODS: A total of 8466 police completed an interview/survey as part of the WTC Medical monitoring and Treatment Program an average of four years after 9/11/2001. RESULTS: The past month prevalence of full and subsyndromal WTC-related PTSD was 5.4% and 15.4%, respectively. Loss of someone or knowing someone injured on 9/11 (odds ratios ORs=1.56-1.86), pre-9/11 stressors (ORs=1.30-1.50), family support (ORs=0.83-0.94), and union membership (ORs=0.50-0.52) were associated with both full and subsyndromal PTSD. Exposure to the dust cloud (OR=1.36), performing search and rescue work (OR=1.29), and work support (OR=0.89) were additionally associated with subsyndromal PTSD. Rates of comorbid depression, panic disorder, and alcohol use problems (ORs=3.82-41.74), and somatic symptoms and functional difficulties (ORs=1.30-1.95) were highest among police with full PTSD, with intermediate rates among police with subsyndromal PTSD (ORs=2.93-7.02; and ORs=1.18-1.60, respectively). Police with full and subsyndromal PTSD were significantly more likely than controls to report needing mental healthcare (41.1% and 19.8%, respectively, versus 6.8% in trauma controls). CONCLUSIONS: These results underscore the importance of a more inclusive and dimensional conceptualization of PTSD, particularly in professions such as police, as operational definitions and conventional screening cut-points may underestimate the psychological burden for this population. Accordingly, psychiatric clinicians should assess for disaster-related subsyndromal PTSD symptoms in disaster response personnel. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Dust
  • Emergency Responders
  • Law Enforcement
  • Men
  • Mental Health
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • September 11 Terrorist Attacks
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Women
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Mental-health
  • Humans
  • Men
  • Women
  • Police-officers
  • Law-enforcement-workers
  • Injuries
  • Stress
  • Exposure-levels
  • Dusts
  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-3956
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; District of Columbia ; New Jersey ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  46
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041323
• Citation:
  J Psychiatr Res 2012 Jul; 46(7):835-842
• Contact Point Address:
  Robert H. Pietrzak, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Yale University School of Medicine, 950 Campbell Avenue 151E, West Haven, CT 06516
• Email:
  robert.pietrzak@yale.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040601
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Psychiatric Research
• End Date:
  20100531
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193922/cdc_193922_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 120.25 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8411141c2eeadd401dfd88aa138458561895f6a0af1845947c45a7f6fa70bbb726c08a7783caeb9a940fc5937e18f113b1b46918bd6cd704b623abd7b7f16eb5