Posttraumatic stress disorder populations

Rates of smoking among patients with bipolar disorders and anxiety disorders (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder) are also higher than those in the general population (Lasser et al. 2000), but there has been htde smdy of the factors associated with motivation to quit smoking or of smoking cessation interventions in these patient groups. 

Breslau, N., Davis, G.C., Andreski, P., and Peterson, E. (1991) Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in an urban population of young adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry 48 216—222. 

Giaconia, R.M., Reinherz, H.Z., Silverman, A.B., Pakiz, B., Frost, A.K., and Cohen, E. (1995) Traumas and posttraumatic stress disorder in a community population of older adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34 1369-1380. 

Alcohol is one of the most commonly consumed drugs in the world and has been used by humans since the Stone Age. It is anxiolytic for this reason, it has been used not only for relaxation purposes but also by people with anxiety disorders to suppress their symptoms. Between 10% and 20% of agoraphobic patients are alcohol dependent. Thyrer et al. [1986] reported a 36% prevalence of alcoholism among socially phobic patients entering an anxiety disorders clinic, and [according to population studies] 20%-80% of people with posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] are dependent on alcohol. Sierles et al. [1983], in their study of Vietnam War veterans with PTSD, found that 64% were alcohol dependent. Since the Epidemiological Catchment Area study estimated the lifetime prevalence of PTSD to be 1% in the United States population, it is clear that self-medication with alcohol for anxiety symptoms will have a major influence on the development of alcohol dependency [Regier et al. 1990]. 

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a response to a recognizable, serious stressor that is characterized by specific behaviors. At present, in the general population prevalence rates range between 3% and 6% (Kessler, Son-nega, Bromet, Hughes, Nelson, 1995). A diagnosis of... 

Humans were not untouched by this disaster. Visits to community clinics for primary care and mental health services in the affected area increased dramatically after the spill (Impact Assessments, 1990). Exposure to the incident was shown to have a profound impact on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders with increased rates of generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depressive symptoms present in the population (Palinkas, Petterson, Russell, Downs, 1993). 

Recent studies have shown that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in African Americans may be associated with different symptoms and maybe misdiagnosed, with the consequent greater likelihood of antipsychotic treatment (Lawson 1999). In all populations, typical symptoms in PTSD may easily be mistaken for psychotic symptoms. Flashbacks in patients with PTSD may be mistaken for hallucinatory experiences, emotional blunting for a flattened affect, and hyperreactivity for psychotic excitement. Consequently, patients are at risk of being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia (Allen 1996). 

Psychiatrists prescribe antipsychotics to treat mental illnesses that cause patients to experience marked breaks with reality (psychosis). The most common of such disorders is schizophrenia, which is a chronic, disabling, persistent, and severe brain disease that sigpiificantly impairs brain functioning and affects 1 percent of the world s population, including 3 million people in the United States alone. Antipsychotic medications are referred to as typical or atypical. Psychiatrists prescribe anxiolytics (antianxiety medications) to treat anxiety disorders, which include panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatrists prescribe antidepressants and mood stabilizers to treat the symptoms of mood disorders, the most common and severe of which are major depression and bipolar disorder. 

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