Self-reported health profiles of trauma victims with and without psychiatric histories

Background This study examined associations between self-reported trauma exposure and physical health status after control of vari-ance associated with psychiatric disturbance. Physical and mental health diagnoses were examined among participants with and without histories of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants and procedure College (n = 2,320) and national (n = 663) respondents were surveyed to identify trauma histories defined using the primary DSM-5 diagnostic criterion for PTSD. Respondents also identified lifetime diagnoses for a range of medical and psychiatric conditions. They were also asked to provide a self-assessment of their own current physical health status using a ten-point scaling metric. Results Support was found for all three hypotheses: (H1) Self-identified trauma was associated with higher prevalence rates for 16 of 18 medical diagnoses; (H2) PTSD diagnoses were associated with higher prevalence rates than trauma alone for 6 of 16 medical conditions; and (H3) Self-reported trauma was associated with higher prevalence rates for 7 of 18 medical condi-tions among respondents who denied psychiatric histories. Conclusions Trauma exposure both with and without co-occurring psychiatric illness was associated with substantially higher rates of self-reported physical illness. Practitioners and researchers should recognize the potential significance of self-identified trauma and the range of potential biosocial implications that may warrant monitoring.