PTSD greatest where war trauma is worst

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder remains high in Liberia nearly 20 years after the principal conflict, U.S. researchers say.

First author Dr. Sandro Galea of the Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health says study investigators find certain villages in Liberia had a much higher prevalence of PTSD than others.

Villages that had experienced the greater burden of war had higher prevalence of PTSD.

"This suggests that there is much more to the aftermath of conflict than a 'path of blood' and that populations who are unfortunate enough to have been in the 'path of trauma' experiencing severe, violent conflict are likely to bear a burden of psychopathology for decades thereafter," Galea says in a statement.

The study is published in the American Journal of Public Health.