Gender Differences of Postdeployment Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Service Members and Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts
Gender Differences of Postdeployment Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Service Members and Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts
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DOI：
10.1093/epirev/mxt005
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发表时间：
2014-01-01
影响因子：
5.5
通讯作者：
Jacobson, Isabel
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Crum-Cianflone, Nancy F.;Jacobson, Isabel
尽管在过去十年中美国军队中女性的角色有了显著扩展，但在部署后心理健康状况的发展方面是否存在性别差异尚不清楚。对2001年至2012年文献的综合回顾研究了美国女兵从伊拉克和阿富汗冲突部署归来后是否比男性更有可能患上创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）。对来自8个独特研究群体的18项研究结果进行了回顾。7项研究发现，与男性相比，女性PTSD筛查呈阳性的风险更高，包括对所有军种成员中新发PTSD进行评估的前瞻性设计研究。尽管退伍军人事务部样本的研究结果在4项分析中发现女性风险降低，但这些研究使用了相同的源数据库，是在寻求治疗的人群中进行的，并且大多无法考虑战斗经历。7项研究未发现性别差异。总之，女性在部署后患PTSD的风险似乎略高，尽管研究之间缺乏共识，而且即使是那些方法最严谨的研究也并非专门为评估潜在的性别差异而设计。鉴于已发表文献的局限性，进一步的研究应采用纵向研究设计，并对部署经历进行综合评估，同时调整部署前因素，以确认在部署后PTSD方面是否存在性别差异。
Despite the marked expansion of roles for women in the US military over the last decade, whether differences by gender exist in regard to the development of mental health conditions postdeployment is unclear. This comprehensive review of the literature (20012012) examined whether US servicewomen were more likely than men to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after returning from deployments to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Findings from 18 studies from 8 unique study populations were reviewed. Seven studies found that women had a higher risk for screening positive for PTSD compared with men, including prospectively designed studies that evaluated new-onset PTSD among members from all service branches. Although results from studies with Veterans Affairs samples found women at decreased risk in 4 analyses, these studies used the same source databases, were conducted in treatment-seeking populations, and were mostly unable to account for combat experience. Seven studies detected no differences by gender. In summary, women appeared to have a moderately higher risk for postdeployment PTSD, although there was a lack of consensus among the studies, and even those with the most rigorous methods were not designed specifically to evaluate potential gender differences. Given the limitations of the published literature, further research should use longitudinal study designs and comprehensive evaluations of deployment experiences while adjusting for predeployment factors to confirm that gender differences exist with regard to postdeployment PTSD.