PTSD in the elderly: An update on prevalence, symptom presentation, and clinical implications

• Main Authors: Glück, Tobias M, Maercker, Andreas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 2012
• Subjects: Institute of Psychology; 150 Psychology; lapp
• Online Access: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/67000/; https://www.zora.uzh.ch/67000; http://www.istss.org/TraumaticStressPoints1/5119.htm

Does posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) differ in its presentation in old age to that in middle or young adulthood? Is it rarer in old age, due to spontaneous recovery or other reasons? These and other questions have been increasingly investigated in recent years starting from a point of almost non-existent systematic research (Hiskey, Luckie, Davies, & Brewin, 2008a; Lapp, Agbokou, & Ferreri, 2011; Owens, Baker, Kasckow, Ciesla, & Mohamed, 2005). However, research on the aftermath of World War II in Europe has contributed to these investigations (e.g. Bramsen, van der Ploeg, & Boers, 2006; Glaesmer, Gunzelmann, Braehler, Forstmeier, & Maercker, 2010; Spitzer et al., 2008). In this update we will provide some recent findings concerning the epidemiology of PTSD in the elderly, discuss age- differential symptom patterns, and report on the relationship between PTSD and age-related morbidity. We will also illustrate why knowledge on PTSD is important in gerontological care.