Sex differences in PTSD risk: evidence from post-conflict populations challenges the general assumption of increased vulnerability in females. Issue 1 (1st January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wilker, Sarah; Kolassa, Stephan; Ibrahim, Hawkar; Rajan, Vathsalan; Pfeiffer, Anett; Catani, Claudia; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana
• Is Part Of: European journal of psychotraumatology. Volume 12:Issue 1(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01-01
• Subjects: Posttraumatic stress disorder -- prevalence -- sex differences -- trauma load -- conflict -- war; Trastorno de estrés postraumático -- prevalencia -- diferencias según sexo -- carga traumática -- conflicto -- guerra; 创伤后应激障碍 -- 患病率 -- 性别差异 -- 创伤负荷 -- 冲突 -- 战争; Post-traumatic stress disorder -- Periodicals; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Periodicals; Fulltext; Internet Resources; Periodicals; 616.8521
• DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1930702
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2000-8198

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background : Next to the dose-dependent effect of trauma load, female sex represents a well-established risk factor for PTSD. Exposure to particularly toxic traumatic event types, different coping styles, and biological risk factors are frequently listed as potential causes for the increased PTSD vulnerability in females. Nevertheless, sex differences have not been consistently observed in all study populations. Objective : To investigate sex differences in PTSD risk in post-conflict populations from different countries while considering trauma load. Method : In civilian post-conflict samples from Northern Uganda ( N = 1665), Rwanda ( N = 433), Syria ( N = 974) and Sri Lanka ( N = 165), we investigated sex differences in PTSD risk while taking trauma load into account. PTSD and trauma load were assessed using standardized diagnostic interviews. Potential sex differences in PTSD risk were analysed by logistic regression analyses considering trauma load. Results : Across all samples, males reported more traumatic events than females. Both sexes predominantly reported war-related traumatic events. Without considering trauma load, sex effects in PTSD risk were only detected in the Syrian sample. When taking trauma load into account, evidence for an increased PTSD vulnerability in females was found in the Syrian sample, and, to a much lesser extent, in the Northern Ugandan sample. Conclusion : In contrast to the literature, we did not find evidence for a general increased PTSD vulnerability in females. The dose-response effect of trauma load was a much stronger predictor of PTSD risk than sex across all samples. HIGHLIGHTS: In four samples of civilian conflict survivors, sex did not influence PTSD risk as strongly as commonly reported in the literature. If males and females experience similar trauma event types and a high amount of traumatic stress, sex differences in PTSD risk seem to decrease.