• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship among the degree of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social support, stress coping strategies, and self-esteem in patients with PTSD. Methods : A total of 48 patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for PTSD and 48 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated subjects using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and The Ways of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ). We analyzed data using an independent t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results : In PTSD patients, total CAPS scores showed a significant positive correlation with HAM-A and HAM-D scores and a significant negative correlation with MSPSS scores. RSES scores showed a significant positive correlation with MSPSS and SCQ scores. MSPSS scores showed a significant negative correlation with PTSD avoidance and numbing and HAM-D scores. SCQ scores showed a significant negative correlation with PTSD avoidance and numbing. Conclusion : These results revealed that the better the stress coping strategies and social support, the lower the degree of symptoms in patients with PTSD. In addition, it was found that the higher the social support and self-esteem, the lower the degree of depression and anxiety. Therefore, in the treatment process, it seems important to identify and correct the self-esteem, social support system, and stress coping strategies of patients with PTSD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.75-79
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• 2009

In this article, we review the efficacy of early interventions after traumatic incidents and during acute stress disorder (ASD). There are some evidences that psychopharmacological medications such as propronolol, morphine, and hydrocortisone are effective in the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Considering the role of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in hippocampal neurogenesis and an animal model of PTSD, early administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is also fairly promising. Other pharmacological treatments including benzodiazepines did not treat ASD nor prevent PTSD. There are good evidences that cognitive behavioral therapy including cognitive therapy and prolonged exposure is a valuable intervention for ASD and the most effective prevention for PTSD. No contolled researches on eye movement desensitization&reprocessing, psychodynamic psychotherapy and hypnotherapy have performed. Recent randomized controlled studies using psychological debriefing did not prove as a useful intervention for the prevention of PTSD until now, although the efficacy of debriefing has been at the centre of controversy.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.829-838
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• 2003

Purpose: In South Korea, as growing the need of psychological support in disaster situation psychological assessment on stress after disaster is important to find out the factors affecting coping, and to plan intervention in the community. Method: The volunteers of Korea Redcross who live around K city, and the research team visited all homes at Jirye town, one of the high-impact area, 4 month after the typhoon. One of the family members who is over 18 years old, answered the self-report questionnaire composed of disaster experience, damage, exposure to traumatic event, and posttraumatic stress with IES-K (Impact of Event Scale-korea) He also, described his family members symptom related to re-experiencing, hyper-arousal, and avoidance. Six hundreds households were surveyed. Result: The prevalence of moderate to severe PTSD symptom was 36% of the subjects. The severity of PTSD was affected by gender, economic status and affected by damaged property, physical injury, worsening existing disease, getting infectious disease, amount of experienced traumatic event before disaster, warning, taking shelter, and subjects revealed differences in somatization as severity of PTSD. According to the description, community members had re-experiencing, hyper-arousal and avoidance. Conclusion: At a rural area, South Korea, community members have suffered from psychological distress after disaster. So psychological interventions are required as affecting factors and also to plan for warning and shelter in disaster situation is needed for preventing PTSD.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.174-183
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• 1999

Objective : This study was designed to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) after motor vehicle accidents(MVA) in 44 consecutive MVA victims referred to psychiatry for the diagnosis, treatment and psychiatric assessment. Method : The diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder was made on the basis of DSM-IV criteria, and posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale(CAPS). Correlation between the extent of physical injury and the severity of PTSD symptoms using the Abbreviated Injury Scale(AIS) was analyzed and the frequency of psychiatric comorbidity of PTSD was invested. Result : Twenty-two(45.5%) MVA victims met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD, while thirteen(29.5%) showed a subsyndromal form of it. AIS scores significantly related with the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms(r=0.565, p=0.0001). PTSD group showed high percentages of each of the 17 symptoms(criterion B, C, D), while subsyndromal PTSD group showed relatively high percentages of criterion Band D. The most frequent symptom was 'distressing dreams' of criterion B in both group. A high percentages(56%) of the MVA-PTSD group also met the criteria for current major depression. Conclusions : These findings suggest that there is apparently a high likelihood of developing all or part of the PTSD syndrome after motor vehicle accidents. So it does appear that for those MVA victims who seek medical attention and eventually need psychiatric referral, diagnostic possibility of PTSD should be taken into account in treatment planning and early intervention.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2016

Objectives: This study was performed to review the research trends in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in traditional Chinese medicine.Methods: We searched articles in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) using keywords, “ Posttraumatic stress disorder” , and “ PTSD” in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs and Combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Western Medicine field. We selected 16 studies after excluding non-clinical or unrelated studies.Results: Four pre-post comparison studies and 12 controlled clinical trials were performed in patients with PTSD in China. Herbal medicine, acupuncture, and moxibustion therapy were used for the treatment of PTSD. Most of the studies showed positive results, and they reported that the treatment groups had fewer side effects than the control group. However, the quality of these clinical studies was low.Conclusions: According to this study, TCM for PTSD would be an effective and safe intervention. Therefore, based on this study, more clinical research on the treatment of PTSD should be performed in Korean medicine in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2017

Occupational hazards of firefighting and rescue works include frequent exposure to emergencies and life-threatening situations. These stressful work conditions of being constantly under pressure and exposed to potentially traumatic events put them at higher risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to the general population. PTSD is a potentially debilitating mental disorder, due to persistent intrusive thoughts, negative alterations of mood and cognition, hypervigilance, avoidance of similar situations and reminders, and re-experiences of the traumatic event. Previous studies have shown a relatively high prevalence of PTSD among firefighters, indicating the need for a systematic approach of early detection and prevention. Therefore, a critical review of the current literature on PTSD in firefighters would provide valuable insights into developing effective prevention and intervention programs. Literature indicated that there are risk factors of PTSD in firefighters, such as pre-existing depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, occupational stress, physical symptoms, and binge drinking, whereas social support and adequate rewards are protective factors. Although there are differences in the prevalence of PTSD across studies, partly due to various assessment tools utilized, different sample sizes, and sample characteristics, over one tenth of the firefighters were estimated to have PTSD. The current review warrants further investigations to precisely assess PTSD and co-morbid mental disorders, functional outcomes, and associated factors, and to develop evidence-based preventive and interventional programs to help firefighters with PTSD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.71-79
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• 2018

Objective : Several earlier studies have reported similar symptoms in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who have been repeatedly exposed to relevant media after disasters and trauma. This study aimed to examine the effects of indirect trauma experience through media rather than direct traumatic events on an individual's social life. Methods : Five hundred and fifty-four individuals participated in our online, self-reported questionnaire survey. All subjects were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Korean version of Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, Patient Health Questionnaire-15, Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Participants were assessed in regards to their experience of violent media exposure within the past three months. Results : Data from our study indicates that the group exposed to violent media had significantly higher perceived stress, physical symptoms, insomnia, and suicide ideation in comparison to the control group. Among the major symptoms of PTSD, the proportion of intrusion symptoms was relatively high in the media exposed group. Conclusion : This suggests that indirect trauma caused by media exposure could cause post-traumatic stress symptoms. The PTSD caused by indirect trauma may have slight differences from the PTSD caused by direct trauma. Therefore, it is necessary to understand, prevent, and control the adverse effects of media.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.256-265
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• 2009

Objectives : The aims of this study were to assess a) the prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) in schizophrenic patients and b) the differences in symptomatology and outcome after 1year treatment between those with and without PTSD. Methods : Twenty eight schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients completed the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS), Life Stressor Checklist-Revised(LSCL-R), Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale(CAPS), Dissociative Experiences Scale(DES), Hamilton Psychiatry Rating Scale for Depression(HAM-D), and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSE). Results : Twenty six patients(92.9%) had at least one trauma in their life time. Eleven patients(39.3%) were diagnosed with PTSD. PTSD group had significantly higher scores on HAM-D and DES but lower scores on RSE. PTSD group also had significantly lower score in the baseline PANSS Negative score. Higher CAPS scores were significantly correlated with lower baseline PANSS Negative score and greater change after 1year of PANSS Negative score. Conclusion : These results showed that the prevalences of trauma and PTSD are high in schizophrenic patients and suggested that PTSD and trauma-related symptoms affected the symptomatology and treatment outcome. More research is warranted to better understand the effects of PTSD in schizophrenic patients.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2013

Objectives : Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is classified as an anxiety disorder. PTSD occurrence is known to be increased in middle-aged and older people, female, and individuals with a previous history of psychiatric disorders, lower education levels, low socioeconomic status, and severely injured patients. Anxiety symptoms are also related to later development of PTSD. In this study, we investigate the influences of injury severity and sociodemographic factors on severe anxiety in PTSD patients with no previous history of psychiatric disorders. Methods : Forty-one PTSD patients without previous history of psychiatric disorders were recruited from the psychiatric clinic at Chosun University Hospital. Subjects underwent psychiatric and physical examinations including the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Korean-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS). We defined severe anxiety as a BAI scores of 30 or more. Logistic regression analyses and multi-step model selection were applied to identify predictive factors for severe anxiety. Results : In univariate analysis, age, ISS, and socioeconomic status were found to be significant factors. Through multivariate logistic regression analyses and a stepwise model selection, we found the combination of age and ISS to be the best-fitted model for affecting severe anxiety in PTSD patients without a previous history of psychiatric disorders. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that the combination of age and ISS could develop severe anxiety in PTSD patients with no previous history of psychiatric disorders.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2013

Objective : Several studies have reported the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and hypertension (HTN). The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of PTSD symptoms on blood pressure. Methods : Korean veterans of the Vietnam War with (n=62) or without PTSD (n=87) participated in this study. The clinician administered PTSD scale (CAPS) and alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) were applied. Blood pressure, pulse rate, risk factors of HTN and demographic data of the subjects were collected. Effects of potential explanatory variables on HTN were analyzed with logistic regression. Results : Diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in PTSD group (p=0.015). However, PTSD subjects showed significantly lower pulse rate than non-PTSD subjects (p=0.004). Logistic regression analysis showed that avoidance symptom might be a predictor for hypertension (OR=1.065, p=0.030). Conclusion : These results suggest that PTSD, especially avoidance symptom, might be a risk factor on HTN in the elderly with PTSD. Further studies are needed to evaluate the change of blood pressure according to the clinical improvement of PTSD.