In the methodologically rigorous paper published in this issue, Dr. Sampson and colleagues
1
examine survey data from the Nurses’ Health Study II in over 30,000 current or former
female nurses ages 53–74 years old. This is one of the largest, most comprehensive
reports of trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom presence and severity,
and related treatment in a national sample of middle-aged and older women in the United
States. Trauma exposure was common in this group (82.2%) and the prevalence of lifetime
(10.5%) and past month PTSD (1.5%) were comparable to those in general population
samples of women. One particularly striking finding was that over one-third of women
with lifetime PTSD reported never receiving trauma-related mental health treatment,
indicating a considerable treatment gap.Key Words
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References
- Trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and treatment among middle-aged and older women in the nurses’ health study II.Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022; 30: 588-602
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- Preliminary report on childhood sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among middle-aged and older depressed women.Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2004; 12: 536-538https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajgp.12.5.536
- Military sexual trauma in older women veterans: prevalence and comorbidities.J Gen Intern Med. 2020; 35: 207-213https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05342-7
- Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060.US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, US Census Bureau, Washington, DC2018
- Post-traumatic stress disorder: hidden syndrome in elders.Clin Gerontologist. 1986; 5: 417-433
Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 19, 2021
Accepted:
November 12,
2021
Received:
November 12,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
