Abstract
The present study examined rates of trauma exposure, clinical characteristics associated with trauma exposure, and the effect of trauma exposure on treatment outcome in a large sample of primary care patients without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals without PTSD (N = 1,263) treated as part of the CALM program (Roy-Byrne et al., Journal of the American Medical Association 303(19)1921–1928, 2010) were assessed for presence of trauma exposure. Those with and without trauma exposure were compared on baseline demographic and diagnostic information, symptom severity, and responder status six months after beginning treatment. Trauma-exposed individuals (N = 662, 53 %) were more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and had higher levels of somatic symptoms at baseline. Individuals with and without trauma exposure did not differ significantly on severity of anxiety, depression, or mental health functioning at baseline. Trauma exposure did not significantly impact treatment response. Findings suggest that adverse effects of trauma exposure in those without PTSD may include OCD and somatic anxiety symptoms. Treatment did not appear to be adversely impacted by trauma exposure. Thus, although trauma exposure is prevalent in primary care samples, results suggest that treatment of the presenting anxiety disorder is effective irrespective of trauma history.
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Notes
Note: Because of the statistical trend indicating a greater proportion of females in the trauma exposed group analyses comparing baseline severity and outcome at 6-months were also conducted with gender as a covariate. This did not change the pattern of results.
Results of analyses using continuous BSI-12 scores as the dependent variable produced equivalent results.
References
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This grand supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT00347269
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Bomyea, J., Lang, A.J., Golinelli, D. et al. Trauma Exposure in Anxious Primary Care Patients. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 35, 254–263 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-012-9327-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-012-9327-0