Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in World War II veterans.

Four posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scales were compared in a community sample of 330 American former prisoners of war and combat veterans of World War II. The Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD (M-PTSD), the MMPI-2 Pk PTSD scale, and the Impact of Event Scale (IES) all demonstrated moderate relationships with PTSD as defined by the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R). Comparative validities were similar to those observed in Vietnam veteran samples. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the 3 scales loaded significantly on 1 factor. The impact of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) PTSD criteria changes was examined and found to be minimal. Implications for the use of the M-PTSD, Pk, and IES in combat-related PTSD assessment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traumatic war stressors and psychiatric symptoms among World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War veterans.

Three hypotheses regarding symptoms of war-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general psychiatric distress were tested: that symptoms are more severe the more severe the traumatic exposure, regardless of the war in question; that symptoms are less severe the older the veterans' age; and that symptom levels differ across sociocultural cohorts. A total of 5,138 war zone veterans who were seeking treatment from specialized Veterans Affairs outpatient clinical teams made up the sample: 320 World War II, 199 Korean War, and 4,619 Vietnam War veterans. All hypotheses were supported significantly. The similarity of relationships between traumatic exposure and symptoms across wars testifies to the generality of these experiences. Furthermore, the results suggest the operation of significant effects due both to aging and to cohort differences in sociocultural attitudes toward the stigma of mental illness and the popularity of the wars. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The World War II plutonium experiments: contested stories and their lessons for medical research and informed consent

During the Second World War medical researchers around the USA injected 18 hospital patients with radioactive plutonium in order to learn its effects on the body. Two documents, a newspaper account and a university committee report, tell divergent stories of the scientists and patients involved in that experiment. This article uses those documents-plutonium narratives-as a catalyst for exploring the problematic representation of past human experimentation, assumptions of moral progress in medical research, and the nature of informed consent today. Informed consent is shown to be an evolving process and discursive practice that cannot be understood apart from its historical and cultural embeddedness.     

Predictors and outcomes of posttraumatic stress disorder in World War II veterans exposed to mustard gas.

Current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with participation in secret military tests of mustard gas during World War II was assessed in 363 male military veterans who were randomly sampled from a registry developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Current prevalence was 32% for full PTSD and 10% for partial PTSD. Prevalence of PTSD varied as a function of risk and protective factors, including volunteering, physical symptoms during the tests, and prohibited disclosure. Prediction of partial PTSD was weaker than prediction of full PTSD. Veterans with full PTSD reported poorer physical health, a higher likelihood of several chronic illnesses and health-related disability, greater functional impairment, and higher likelihood of health care use than those with no PTSD. Veterans with partial PTSD also had poorer outcomes than did veterans with no PTSD in a subset of these domains. There is discussion of the traumatic elements of experimental mustard gas exposure, vulnerability to PTSD, and the relevance of these findings to understanding the broad range of outcomes associated with PTSD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of PTSD and other mental disorders in World War II and Korean Conflict POW survivors and combat veterans.

Mental disorders were assessed in 326 prisoners of war (POWs) of the World War II (WWII) European theater, WWII Pacific theater, and Korean Conflict (KC) and in combat veterans of both wars. Diagnoses were identified using a structured diagnostic interview including a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) module. POW trauma severity was measured by a trauma events index, captivity weight loss, and captivity duration. KC and WWII Pacific former POWs reported the most extreme trauma and, as hypothesized, showed highest prevalences of lifetime and current mental disorders and PTSD. POW subgroups exhibited greater psychopathology than combat veterans. PTSD was frequently associated with other mental disorders and found in high prevalences in all subgroups, pointing to the persistent, far-reaching impact of combat and POW experiences on mental health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The organizational structure of medical group practices in a managed care environment

This article analyzes the organizational structures of 155 medical group practices providing services in the highly competitive managed care environment in the upper midwest. The structure of the group practices and the methods of physicians' payment are analyzed in terms of the proportion of revenue obtained from financial risk-sharing managed care payment systems and the length of time involved with those systems.     

Mortality of workers hired during World War II

There has been some suggestion that men first hired during World War II do not show the typical healthy worker effect and may have been more unhealthy than their counterparts who entered military service. We have studied 41,000 workers at six plants to determine whether men hired during World War II had higher mortality than men hired just before or after WWII. No evidence was found of any "unhealthy WWII worker" effect.     

Financing long-term care for elderly persons: what are the options?

We report studies of the interaction of Alzheimer's amyloid beta protein (A beta) with normal human plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL), aiming to clarify to which lipoprotein (LP) structural constituent (apolipoprotein or lipid) soluble A beta is primarily bound. Purified HDLs were incubated with biotinylated A beta 1-40 followed by LP repurification by size exclusion (SE) HPLC. SDS-PAGE, immunoblot and N-terminal sequence analysis of the biotin-A beta positive protein bands revealed that A beta is bound to many apolipoproteins of the HDL, mainly apoA-I, apoA-II, apoE and apoJ. On the other hand, reconstituted, protein-free HDL lipid particles also bind A beta peptide and inhibit its aggregation, as intact HDL does. This was assessed by SE-HPLC, SDS-PAGE, immunoblot analysis, ultrastructural electron microscopy and Congo Red staining for beta amyloid fibrils. Our data imply that A beta binding to lipids may play an important role in maintaining the peptide in solution and thus be particularly relevant to A beta normal and pathologic biochemistry and physiology.     

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Current Relationship Functioning Among World War II Ex-Prisoners of War.

This study examined the association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with the quality of intimate relationships among present-day male World War II ex-prisoners of war (POWs). Ex-POWs had considerable marital stability; those with PTSD were no less likely to be in an intimate relationship. Ex-POWs in an intimate relationship who had PTSD (N=125 ) were compared with ex-POWs in a relationship who did not have PTSD (N=206). Marital functioning was within a range expected for persons without traumatic exposure. Yet, over 30% of those with PTSD reported relationship problems compared with only 11% of those without PTSD. Ex-POWs with PTSD reported poorer adjustment and communication with their partners and more difficulties with intimacy. Emotional numbing was significantly associated with relationship difficulties independent of other symptom complexes and severity of PTSD. Implications for clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Governing the grapevine: The study of rumor during World War II.

Throughout the early 1940s, a host of rumors relating to the Second World War began to circulate, leading the government to establish various committees and undertake multiple projects intended to counteract rumors that were believed to threaten civilian morale and compromise national security. Simultaneously, social scientists also began taking measures to study and combat rumor. Such efforts included the institution of several community groups, deemed "rumor clinics," that aimed to decrease the prevalence of wartime rumor by educating the general public. This article outlines the rise and fall of rumor clinics, focusing specifically on the shifting boundaries and the mounting tensions between the United States government and social scientists in the study of rumor during World War II. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of aerospace medicine in Serbia before World War II

According to the last Island-wide survey carried out in 1982 in Puerto Rico, the cesarean rate for the trienium of 1980-82 was estimated in 27 percent. Since 1989, an item about the type of delivery has been included in the live birth certificate. These data indicate that the incidence of cesarean deliveries continued to increase and by 1994 it amounted to 31 percent, undoubtedly the highest rate of the world. However, its fluctuation since 1990 suggests that this type of delivery has finally steadied in Puerto Rico. The high proportion of repeated cesareans and the low percentage of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) deliveries were important factors contributing to the overall rate. Unexpectedly high risk mothers such as, adolescents, unwed and those of the lower socioeconomic status had highest cesarean rates than their encounterparts. Similarly, mothers who had the most adequate prenatal care had the highest percentages of surgical deliveries. In spite of dealing with a selected clientele, the cesarean rate in private hospitals was more than twice that of public institutions. In fact, a multiple correlation analysis demonstrate that the type of hospital of delivery was the most important correlate of a cesarean.     

Psychological assessment of aviators captured in World War II.

Psychological assessments, including administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and structured interviews for Axis I mental disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically, were used to describe 33 World War II (WWII) aviators who were held as prisoners of war (POWs) for an average of 14 months. Results showed more elevated MMPI profile patterns than expected given previous research with pilots (J. N. Butcher, 1994) and rates of current and lifetime PTSD at 33%, reasoned to derive from POW trauma. Despite this level of psychopathology, WWII aviator POW survivors were found to be more resilient to captivity effects than age-similar nonaviator WWII POW survivors characterized generally by less advantages in education, military rank, and other personal resources. Compared with aviator former POWs of the Vietnam War studied in their mid-life years (R. J. Ursano et al, 1981), the present sample appeared to be less psychologically robust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repressed memories and World War II: Lest we forget!

The war neuroses of World War II (WWII) provide ample evidence that repression does indeed occur, and that the recovery of these traumatic memories and their related affects led to remission of symptoms. Moreover, these recovered memories were of events that had occurred. An illustrative case history from WWII is described. This well-documented body of data, well-known at the time, seems to have been forgotten in current discussions concerning repressed memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repressed memories and World War II: Some cautionary notes.

In a recent article in this journal, B. P. Karon and A. J. Widener (1997) argued that clinical data derived from WWII veterans provide unambiguous evidence for the existence of repressed and recovered memories. In response, the authors contend that (a) the research evidence for the existence of repression is considerably weaker than asserted by Karon and Widener, (b) the use of hypnosis and sodium pentathol to recover memories is more problematic than implied by Karon and Widener, and (c) the case study presented by Karon and Widener is difficult to interpret for a variety of reasons. The authors conclude that although further examination of case reports from WWII veterans is clearly warranted, it would be premature to conclude that these reports confirm the existence of repressed and recovered memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The calamus root: a study of American gay poetry since World War II

This paper traces the development of gay poetry in America after World War II. A taxonomy and publishing history is outlined for various poetic movements. An overview is given of the aesthetic and thematic characteristics of the tradition and its connection to homosexual writing in the nineteenth century.     

Genetic analysis of drinking behavior in World War II veteran twins

The objective of the present study was to investigate longitudinal changes in drinking behaviors of adult male twins and model these changes as a function of genetic and environmental influences. Alcohol data available for World War II veteran twins, first surveyed in 1967-69 and followed up during 1983-85, were used to examine components of variability in measures of alcohol consumption. Multivariate biometric analysis of these data indicated 1) longitudinal stability of drinking behaviors in this cohort, 2) a significant contribution of genetic factors to the observed stability that accounted for more than 80% of the stable variation in frequency and in quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion, and 3) evidence for a significant contribution of shared environmental influences to drinking of specific beverages (e.g., wine). The implications of these results for issues of health in the elderly are considered.