Purpose
This systematic review aimed to assess (1) the level of comorbidity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse reported in research studies since 2007 and (2) any ...associations found between specific PTSD symptom clusters and alcohol misuse.
Methods
A literature search was carried out to capture any papers published from 2007 to the end of July 2012. Six hundred and twenty abstracts were identified and reviewed, and 42 papers were included in the final review after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results
The prevalence of comorbid alcohol misuse in those with PTSD ranged from 9.8 to 61.3 %. The prevalence of comorbid PTSD in those with alcohol misuse ranged from 2.0 to 63.0 %, and the majority of prevalence rates were over 10.0 %. Almost all of the odds ratios representing the strength of association between the conditions across a variety of populations were significant, and those ranged from 1.1 to 4.87. Of the different PTSD symptom clusters, this review found most evidence for associations between alcohol misuse and both avoidance/numbing symptoms and hyperarousal symptoms.
Conclusions
Given that comorbidity appears to be common, the evidence from this systematic review supports the use of routine screening for comorbidity in populations who are known to have PTSD or alcohol misuse.
To investigate rates of adherence to the UK's test, trace, and isolate system over the initial 11 months of the covid-19 pandemic.
Series of cross sectional online surveys.
37 nationally ...representative surveys in the UK, 2 March 2020 to 27 January 2021.
74 697 responses from 53 880 people living in the UK, aged 16 years or older (37 survey waves, about 2000 participants in each wave).
Identification of the main symptoms of covid-19 (cough, high temperature or fever, and loss of sense of smell or taste), self-reported adherence to self-isolation if symptoms were present and intention to self-isolate if symptoms were to develop, requesting a test for covid-19 if symptoms were present and intention to request a test if symptoms were to develop, and intention to share details of close contacts.
Only 51.5% of participants (95% confidence interval 51.0% to 51.9%, n=26 030/50 570) identified the main symptoms of covid-19; the corresponding values in the most recent wave of data collection (25-27 January 2021) were 50.8% (48.6% to 53.0%, n=1019/2007). Across all waves, duration adjusted adherence to full self-isolation was 42.5% (95% confidence interval 39.7% to 45.2%, n=515/1213); in the most recent wave of data collection (25-27 January 2021), it was 51.8% (40.8% to 62.8%, n=43/83). Across all waves, requesting a test for covid-19 was 18.0% (95% confidence interval 16.6% to 19.3%, n=552/3068), increasing to 22.2% (14.6% to 29.9%, n=26/117) from 25 to 27 January. Across all waves, intention to share details of close contacts was 79.1% (95% confidence interval 78.8% to 79.5%, n=36 145/45 680), increasing to 81.9% (80.1% to 83.6%, n=1547/1890) from 25 to 27 January. Non-adherence was associated with being male, younger age, having a dependent child in the household, lower socioeconomic grade, greater financial hardship during the pandemic, and working in a key sector.
Levels of adherence to test, trace, and isolate are low, although some improvement has occurred over time. Practical support and financial reimbursement are likely to improve adherence. Targeting messaging and policies to men, younger age groups, and key workers might also be necessary.
Emergency responders (ERs), often termed First Responders, such as police, fire and paramedic roles are exposed to occupational stressors including high workload, and exposure to trauma from critical ...incidents, both of which can affect their mental health and wellbeing. Little is known about the impact of the ER occupation on the mental health and wellbeing of their families. The aim of the current study was to investigate what mental health and wellbeing outcomes and experiences have been researched internationally in ER families, and to examine the prevalence and associated risk and protective factors of these outcomes. We conducted a systematic review in accordance with an a priori PROSPERO approved protocol (PROSPERO 2019 CRD42019134974). Forty-three studies were identified for inclusion. The majority of studies used a quantitative, cross-sectional design and were conducted in the United States; just over half assessed police/law enforcement families. Themes of topics investigated included: 1) Spousal/partner mental health and wellbeing; 2) Couple relationships; 3) Child mental health and wellbeing; 4) Family support and coping strategies; and 5) Positive outcomes. The review identified limited evidence regarding the prevalence of mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Family experiences and risk factors described were ER work-stress spillover negatively impacting spousal/partner wellbeing, couple relationships, and domestic violence. Traumatic exposure risk factors included concerns family had for the safety of their ER partner, the negative impact of an ER partners' mental health problem on the couples' communication and on family mental health outcomes. Protective factors included social support; however, a lack of organisational support for families was reported in some studies. Study limitations and future research needs are discussed. Progressing this area of research is important to improve knowledge of baseline needs of ER families to be able to target interventions, improve public health, and support ER's operational effectiveness.
Little is known about the prevalence of mental health outcomes in UK personnel at the end of the British involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.AimsWe examined the prevalence of mental ...disorders and alcohol misuse, whether this differed between serving and ex-serving regular personnel and by deployment status.
This is the third phase of a military cohort study (2014-2016; n = 8093). The sample was based on participants from previous phases (2004-2006 and 2007-2009) and a new randomly selected sample of those who had joined the UK armed forces since 2009.
The prevalence was 6.2% for probable post-traumatic stress disorder, 21.9% for common mental disorders and 10.0% for alcohol misuse. Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan and a combat role during deployment were associated with significantly worse mental health outcomes and alcohol misuse in ex-serving regular personnel but not in currently serving regular personnel.
The findings highlight an increasing prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and a lowering prevalence of alcohol misuse compared with our previous findings and stresses the importance of continued surveillance during service and beyond.
All authors are based at King's College London which, for the purpose of this study and other military-related studies, receives funding from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). S.A.M.S., M.J., L.H., D.P., S.M. and R.J.R. salaries were totally or partially paid by the UK MoD. The UK MoD provides support to the Academic Department of Military Mental Health, and the salaries of N.J., N.G. and N.T.F. are covered totally or partly by this contribution. D.Mu. is employed by Combat Stress, a national UK charity that provides clinical mental health services to veterans. D.MacM. is the lead consultant for an NHS Veteran Mental Health Service. N.G. is the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Lead for Military and Veterans' Health, a trustee of Walking with the Wounded, and an independent director at the Forces in Mind Trust; however, he was not directed by these organisations in any way in relation to his contribution to this paper. N.J. is a full-time member of the armed forces seconded to King's College London. N.T.F. reports grants from the US Department of Defense and the UK MoD, is a trustee (unpaid) of The Warrior Programme and an independent advisor to the Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD). S.W. is a trustee (unpaid) of Combat Stress and Honorary Civilian Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry for the British Army (unpaid). S.W. is affiliated to the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response at King's College London in partnership with Public Health England, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and Newcastle University. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, the Department of Health, Public Health England or the UK MoD.
Police employees undertake challenging duties which may adversely impact their health. This study explored the prevalence of and risk factors for probable mental disorders amongst a representative ...sample of UK police employees. The association between mental illness and alterations in blood pressure was also explored.
Data were used from the Airwave Health Monitoring Study which was established to monitor the possible physical health impacts of a new communication system on police employees. Data included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and blood pressure. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the prevalence of probable mental disorders and associated factors. Stepwise linear regression was conducted, controlling for confounding variables, to examine associations between mental disorders and blood pressure.
The sample included 40,299 police staff, police constable/sergeants and inspectors or above. Probable depression was most frequently reported (9.8%), followed by anxiety (8.5%) and PTSD (3.9%). Groups at risk for probable mental disorders included police staff, and police employees who reported drinking heavily. Police employees exposed to traumatic incidents in the past six months had a doubling in rates of anxiety or depression and a six-fold increase in PTSD compared to those with no recent trauma exposure. Adjusted logistic regression models did not reveal any significant association between probable mental disorders and systolic blood pressure but significantly elevated diastolic blood pressure (≈1mmHg) was found across mental disorders.
These results show lower rates of probable mental disorders, especially PTSD, than reported in other studies focusing on police employees. Although mental ill health was associated with increased diastolic blood pressure, this was unlikely to be clinically significant. These findings highlight the importance of continued health monitoring of members of the UK police forces, focusing on employees recently exposed to traumatic incidents, heavy drinkers and police staff.
Summary Background Violent offending by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts is a cause for concern and there is much public debate about the proportion of ex-military personnel in the ...criminal justice system for violent offences. Although the psychological effects of conflict are well documented, the potential legacy of violent offending has yet to be ascertained. We describe our use of criminal records to investigate the effect of deployment, combat, and post-deployment mental health problems on violent offending among military personnel relative to pre-existing risk factors. Methods In this cohort study, we linked data from 13 856 randomly selected, serving and ex-serving UK military personnel with national criminal records stored on the Ministry of Justice Police National Computer database. We describe offending during the lifetime of the participants and assess the risk factors for violent offending. Findings 2139 (weighted 17·0%) of 12 359 male UK military personnel had a criminal record for any offence during their lifetime. Violent offenders (1369 11·0%) were the most prevalent offender types; prevalence was highest in men aged 30 years or younger (521 20·6% of 2728) and fell with age (164 4·7% of 3027 at age >45 years). Deployment was not independently associated with increased risk of violent offending, but serving in a combat role conferred an additional risk, even after adjustment for confounders (violent offending in 137 6·3% of 2178 men deployed in a combat role vs 140 (2·4%) of 5797 deployed in a non-combat role; adjusted hazard ratio 1·53, 95% CI 1·15–2·03; p=0·003). Increased exposure to traumatic events during deployment also increased risk of violent offending (violent offending in 104 4·1% of 2753 men with exposure to two to four traumatic events vs 56 1·6% of 2944 with zero to one traumatic event, 1·77, 1·21–2·58, p=0·003; and violent offending in 122 5·1% of 2582 men with exposure to five to 16 traumatic events, 1·65, 1·12–2·40, p=0·01; test for trend, p=0·032). Violent offending was strongly associated with post-deployment alcohol misuse (violent offending in 120 9·0% of 1363 men with alcohol misuse vs 155 2·3% of 6768 with no alcohol misuse; 2·16, 1·62–2·90; p<0·0001), post-traumatic stress disorder (violent offending in 25 8·6% of 344 men with post-traumatic stress disorder vs 221 3·0% of 7256 with no symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; 2·20, 1·36–3·55; p=0·001), and high levels of self-reported aggressive behaviour (violent offending in 56 6·7% of 856 men with an aggression score of six to 16 vs 22 1·2% of 1685 with an aggression score of zero; 2·47, 1·37–4·46; p=0·003). Of the post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, the hyperarousal cluster was most strongly associated with violent offending (2·01, 1·50–2·70; p<0·0001). Interpretation Alcohol misuse and aggressive behaviour might be appropriate targets for interventions, but any action must be evidence based. Post-traumatic stress disorder, though less prevalent, is also a risk factor for violence, especially hyperarousal symptoms, so if diagnosed it should be appropriately treated and associated risk monitored. Funding Medical Research Council and the UK Ministry of Defence.
The general health questionnaire (GHQ) is commonly used to assess symptoms of common mental disorder (CMD). Prevalence estimates for CMD caseness from UK population studies are thought to be in the ...range of 14-17%, and the UK occupational studies of which we are aware indicate a higher prevalence. This review will synthesise the existing research using the GHQ from both population and occupational studies and will compare the weighted prevalence estimates between them.
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the prevalence of CMD, as assessed by the GHQ, in all UK occupational and population studies conducted from 1990 onwards.
The search revealed 65 occupational papers which met the search criteria and 15 relevant papers for UK population studies. The weighted prevalence estimate for CMD across all occupational studies which used the same version and cut-off for the GHQ was 29.6% (95% confidence intervals (CIs) 27.3-31.9%) and for comparable population studies was significantly lower at 19.1% (95% CIs 17.3-20.8%). This difference was reduced after restricting the studies by response rate and sampling method (23.9% (95% CIs 20.5%-27.4%) vs. 19.2% (95 CIs 17.1%-21.3%)).
Counter intuitively, the prevalence of CMD is higher in occupational studies, compared to population studies (which include individuals not in employment), although this difference narrowed after accounting for measures of study quality, including response rate and sampling method. This finding is inconsistent with the healthy worker effect, which would presume lower levels of psychological symptoms in individuals in employment. One explanation is that the GHQ is sensitive to contextual factors, and it seems possible that symptoms of CMD are over reported when participants know that they have been recruited to a study on the basis that they belong to a specific occupational group, as in nearly all "stress" surveys.
Abstract Introduction The Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) is designed to measure patients' perceived functional impairment associated with a health problem. There is a paucity of studies that ...explore the stability of the item hierarchy in the WSAS across different disease populations. This study investigated the unidimensional structure of the WSAS across different disease populations. Methods Secondary data analysis was conducted on pooled patient data (HIV, breast cancer, and inflammatory conditions) to create a new dataset ( n = 554). The data were analysed using Rasch analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Results Exploratory factor analysis and principle component analysis of the WSAS showed a good fit as a unidimensional scale, person and item separation indices were > 2 suggesting that the WSAS is sensitive enough to distinguish between participants of varying levels of ability. Some differential item functioning was seen by diagnosis and by sex for items 1 and 5 of the WSAS. Conclusions Overall, a one dimensional structure was identified for the WSAS. However, a small number of differential item functioning (DIF) was identified, suggesting that scores from the WSAS cannot be compared across groups.
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