Estimating PTSD Prevalence in US Veterans: Considering Combat Exposure, PTSD Checklist Cutpoints, and DSM-5

Article Abstract Because this piece does not have an abstract, we have provided for your benefit the first 3 sentences of the full text. Having an accurate estimate of the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is critically important for projecting health care needs for veterans now and in coming years. However, prevalence studies in US veterans have produced widely varying estimates, due in large part to lack of representative samples of the entire population, including those who deployed to war zones as well as the large proportion with service not involving war zone deployment. The article by Wisco et al in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry provides the most comprehensive estimate to date of PTSD prevalence in a national veteran sample, as well as other important findings on trauma exposure, risk factors, and comorbidities useful to clinicians, researchers, and health care administrators.