Post-traumatic stress disorder associated with life-threatening motor vehicle collisions in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys

Dan J. Stein*, Elie G. Karam, Victoria Shahly, Eric D. Hill, Andrew King, Maria Petukhova, Lukoye Atwoli, Evelyn J. Bromet, Silvia Florescu, Josep Maria Haro, Hristo Hinkov, Aimee Karam, María Elena Medina-Mora, Fernando Navarro-Mateu, Marina Piazza, Arieh Shalev, Yolanda Torres, Alan M. Zaslavsky, Ronald C. Kessler

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) are a substantial contributor to the global burden of disease and lead to subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the relevant literature originates in only a few countries, and much remains unknown about MVC-related PTSD prevalence and predictors. Methods: Data come from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative, a coordinated series of community epidemiological surveys of mental disorders throughout the world. The subset of 13 surveys (5 in high income countries, 8 in middle or low income countries) with respondents reporting PTSD after life-threatening MVCs are considered here. Six classes of predictors were assessed: socio-demographics, characteristics of the MVC, childhood family adversities, MVCs, other traumatic experiences, and respondent history of prior mental disorders. Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of PTSD. Mental disorders were assessed with the fully-structured Composite International Diagnostic Interview using DSM-IV criteria. Results: Prevalence of PTSD associated with MVCs perceived to be life-threatening was 2.5 % overall and did not vary significantly across countries. PTSD was significantly associated with low respondent education, someone dying in the MVC, the respondent or someone else being seriously injured, childhood family adversities, prior MVCs (but not other traumatic experiences), and number of prior anxiety disorders. The final model was significantly predictive of PTSD, with 32 % of all PTSD occurring among the 5 % of respondents classified by the model as having highest PTSD risk. Conclusion: Although PTSD is a relatively rare outcome of life-threatening MVCs, a substantial minority of PTSD cases occur among the relatively small proportion of people with highest predicted risk. This raises the question whether MVC-related PTSD could be reduced with preventive interventions targeted to high-risk survivors using models based on predictors assessed in the immediate aftermath of the MVCs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number257
JournalBMC Psychiatry
Volume16
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 Jul 2016
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
CONACyT-G30544-H
Eli Lilly Romania SRL
GlaxoS-mithKline
INPRFMDIES4280
Israel National Health Survey
Israel National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research
Mexican National Comorbidity Survey
Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, SpainSAF 2000-158-CE
Ministry of Social Protection
National Center for Public Health Protection
National Mental Health Survey
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical
PanAmerican Health Organization
Servicio Murciano de Salud and Consejería de Sanidad y Política Social
South African Department of Health
WMH
World Health Organization World Mental Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Mental HealthR01 MH070884, U01MH060220, R01-MH059575
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Fogarty International CenterFIRCA R03-TW006481
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation044708
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
John W. Alden Trust
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Eli Lilly and Company
GlaxoSmithKline
World Health Organization
U.S. Public Health ServiceR01 DA016558, R13-MH066849, R01-MH069864
University of Michigan
Pfizer Foundation
Pan American Health Organization
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences
Ministerio de Sanidad, Consumo y Bienestar Social
European CommissionQLG5-1999-01042, SANCO 2004123, EAHC 20081308
South African Medical Research CouncilRO1-MH61905, U01-MH60220
Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
National Insurance Institute of Israel
Ministry of Public Health
Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIFIS 00/0028
Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz
Fundación para la Formación e Investigación Sanitarias de la Región de Murcia
Regione Piemonte
Departament de Salut, Generalitat de CatalunyaRETICS RD06/0011 REM-TAP, CB06/02/0046
Ministerio de Salud

    Keywords

    • Motor vehicle collision
    • Posttraumatic stress disorder
    • PTSD

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