engleski

Relation between the use of alcohol and posttraumatic stress disorder in war veterans of Bosnia and Hercegovina army

The objective of this study was assesment a relation between drinking alcohol and PTSD among war veterans with chronic PTSD, and a relkation between the level of stress, number of traumatic events, and intensity of symptoms of PTSD with level of use and dependence to alcohol. Methods: Anylised were 100 war veterans ; who have had symptoms of PTSD and have been treated at the Psychiatric clinic in Tuzla, and 100 veterans who had no sympztoms of PTSD. The Harward Trauma qWuestionnairre - the version for Bosnia and Hercegovina was used for examining symptoms of PTSD, alcoholism was examined using the SCID scale. Used were also basic socio-demograpfic data and informatiuon from medical documentation of the Cliniv for Psychiatry of the University Clinical Centre in Tuzla.Results: The average age of veterans with PTSD was 42.84-94, whilw average age of veterans with no PTSD was 35.94-4.66. A significant difference (p<0.001). was determinated among those examined groups referring to age. In the group of veterans with PTSD alcoholism was present at v54 examined veterans. A significant difference (p<0, 001) among the examined groups was determined wirth reference to alcoholism. The level of stress, avoidance symptoms, symptoms of reexperience and hyper.arrousal symp0toms significantly influenced the dependence and abuse of alcohol (p<0.001), while the number of traumatic events had no significant influence on drinking alcohol (p>0, 005).Conclusions: Alcohol is significantly more common in veterans wuth PTSD than in veterans with no PTSD, and a significant correlation with the level of stress, intensity of symptoms of PTSD exists, while the number of traumatic events has no significant influence on the apperance of alcohol.

alcohol use ; post traumatic stress disorder

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