The American journal of psychiatry
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Comparative Study
Hippocampal and amygdalar volumes in dissociative identity disorder.
Smaller hippocampal volume has been reported in several stress-related psychiatric disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder with early abuse, and depression with early abuse. Patients with borderline personality disorder and early abuse have also been found to have smaller amygdalar volume. The authors examined hippocampal and amygdalar volumes in patients with dissociative identity disorder, a disorder that has been associated with a history of severe childhood trauma. ⋯ The findings are consistent with the presence of smaller hippocampal and amygdalar volumes in patients with dissociative identity disorder, compared with healthy subjects.
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Comparative Study
Trauma, PTSD, and substance use disorders: findings from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being.
The aim of the present study was to examine the association between trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders and to examine the correlates of substance use disorder plus PTSD comorbidity in the Australian general population. ⋯ It is important that individuals entering treatment for substance use disorder or PTSD be assessed for this comorbidity. The addition of either disorder may present complications that need to be considered for the provision of appropriate treatment. Further research is necessary to ascertain which treatments are most effective in treating comorbid substance use disorder plus PTSD.
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This study assessed the psychopathological effects of combat in veterans with and without combat stress reaction. ⋯ These findings suggest that the detrimental effects of combat are deep and enduring and follow a complex course, especially in combat stress reaction casualties. The implications of aging and ongoing terror in impeding recovery from the psychological wounds of war are discussed.
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Comparative Study
Prevalence of dissociative disorders in psychiatric outpatients.
The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of DSM-IV dissociative disorders in an inner-city outpatient psychiatric population. ⋯ Dissociative disorders were highly prevalent in this clinical population and typically had not been previously diagnosed clinically. The high prevalence of dissociative disorders found in this study may be related to methodological factors (all patients were offered an interview rather than only those who had scored high on a screening self-report measure) and epidemiological factors (extremely high prevalence rates for childhood physical and sexual abuse were present in the overall study population).