Peculiarities of the course and management of Ukrainians with post-traumatic stress disorder in the context of the Ukrainian-Russian war

Abstract

Background The amount of Ukrainians with PTSD has been steadily increasing since December 2022. According to the National Health Service, amount of Ukrainians with posttraumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) in 2021 were 3,167 patients; 2022 — 7,051 patients; 2023 — 12.494 patients; 2024 (January-June) — 6,292, and for the forecasts of WHO, it will continue to increase rapidly. Methods The study involved 450 patients who sought psychological help at the University Clinic of Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University from January to June 2024. All patients were divided into 3 groups: 1st group — patients with PTSD (18–44 years); 2nd group — patients with PTSD (45–59 years), 3rd group — patients with PTSD (60–74 years). The examination of patients included clinical, psychological, questionnaire survey for CAPS-5 scale, SDS — 2000, and static methods. Results In 2nd group, mild and moderate course of PTSD among women were occurred in 2.0 (χ² = 0.86, p = 0.001) and 2.2 (χ² = 0.46, p = 0.023) times more often than in male. While severe and extreme course of PTSD in male of 2nd group were recorded in 1.6 (χ² = 0.16, p = 0.033) and 1.8 (χ² = 0.99, p = 0.006) times more often than in female patients. Conclusions Examination of patients found that, men have a greater resistance to the risk of developing a disorder in the long term in response to stressors than women, but when the disorder develops, men tend to have more severe manifestations. In women, in the long term after severe mental trauma, the risk of developing PTSD is higher, but the intensity of clinical and psychological manifestations of the disorder is less pronounced. Registration The study was carried out in accordance with the plan of research works at the Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University (Adress: 68 Desantnykiv St, 10, Mykolaiv, Ukraine, 54000) on the topic: “Clinical-pathogenetic justification of the system of primary and secondary prevention of the most socially significant chronic non-infectious diseases of internal organs”, state registration number 0120U101641. Date of registration: 17.03.2021 Duration of research: 03.2021-12.2024