Naturalistic Study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Israeli Civilians Exposed to Wartime Attacks

Objective: Civilians who survive wartime attacks commonly experience substantial psychological distress, including acute stress reactions (ASRs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors sought to determine the level of Israeli civilian exposure to wartime attacks, prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and physical injuries, and associated medical costs over a 7-year period. Methods: Data from the National Insurance Institute of Israel on civilian survivors of wartime attacks in the 2009-2015 period were retrospectively examined. Results: Overall, 11,476 civilians were affected by 243 wartime attacks during the study period. Of these individuals, 7,561 (65.9%) received early intervention (EI) psychological treatment for ASRs, 1,332 (11.6%) were subsequently adjudicated as having a disability (all causes), and 519 (4.5%) were adjudicated as disabled by PTSD through the end of 2016. Individuals who received immediate ASR treatment were less likely to be disabled by PTSD (p50.001) Among those without physical injuries, the EI was associate with decreased PTSD disability (2.6% of those receiving th EI developed PTSD, whereas 7.2% of those who did not re ceive the EI developed PTSD); however, for those wit physical injuries, the PTSD rate was higher among thos who received the EI (30.4%) than among those who did no receive the EI (5.2%). Individuals having a disability othe than PTSD incurred higher medical costs ($7,153 in 201 U.S. dollars) than individuals with PTSD ($1,960). Conclusions: An approach of providing case manage ment, medical care, behavioral health screening, and E for ASRs in the wake of wartime attacks on civilians mini mized long-term PTSD-related disability.