Ikin Jillian F, Sim Malcolm R, McKenzie Dean P, Horsley Keith W A, Wilson Eileen J, Moore Michael R, Jelfs Paul, Harrex Warren K, Henderson Scott
Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia.
Br J Psychiatry. 2007 Jun;190:475-83. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.106.025684.
There has been no comprehensive investigation of psychological health in Australia's Korean War veteran population, and few researchers are investigating the health of coalition Korean War veterans into old age.
To investigate the association between war service, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in Australia's 7525 surviving male Korean War veterans and a community comparison group.
A survey was conducted using a self-report postal questionnaire which included the PTSD Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Combat Exposure Scale.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (OR 6.63, P<0.001), anxiety (OR 5.74, P<0.001) and depression (OR 5.45, P<0.001) were more prevalent in veterans than in the comparison group. These disorders were strongly associated with heavy combat and low rank.
Effective intervention is necessary to reduce the considerable psychological morbidity experienced by Korean War veterans. Attention to risk factors and early intervention will be necessary to prevent similar long-term psychological morbidity in veterans of more recent conflicts.
澳大利亚朝鲜战争退伍军人的心理健康状况尚未得到全面调查，而且很少有研究人员对朝鲜战争联军退伍军人步入老年后的健康状况进行调查。
调查澳大利亚7525名幸存男性朝鲜战争退伍军人与一个社区对照组中，参战经历、焦虑、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和抑郁之间的关联。
采用自我报告邮寄问卷进行调查，问卷包括创伤后应激障碍检查表、医院焦虑抑郁量表和战斗暴露量表。
创伤后应激障碍（比值比6.63，P<0.001）、焦虑（比值比5.74，P<0.001）和抑郁（比值比5.45，P<0.001）在退伍军人中比在对照组中更为普遍。这些疾病与激烈战斗和低军衔密切相关。
有必要采取有效干预措施，以降低朝鲜战争退伍军人经历的相当严重的心理发病率。关注风险因素并进行早期干预，对于预防近期冲突退伍军人出现类似的长期心理发病率是必要的。
