July 23, 2007	Monday	Rajab 07, 1428

LAHORE, July 22: A vast majority of the survivors of the October 2005 earthquake, which left indelible scars on the hearts and minds of a large number of people, have yet to come out of the post-traumatic stress disorder.

This has been observed by Dr Nasar Sayeed Khan, head of the Services Institute of Medical Sciences and Service Hospital’s department of psychiatry and behavioural sciences, during his frequent visits to the shattered valleys that are still crying out for the much-needed crutch.

Speaking to Dawn on Sunday, Dr Nasar claimed that most of the earthquake survivors, especially those who had suffered physical injuries, were still going through the PTSD. Such victims, he said, could only be rehabilitated through regular psychological and medical treatment.

But most unfortunately, he deplored, the victims had been left in the lurch as no regular follow-up of their treatment was being conducted.

“Thousands of women, children and elderly people continue to be traumatised for want of bare necessities like shelter and security”, felt Dr Nasar who, along with a three-member team, had conducted a survey assessing 210 earthquake victims for the PTSD and depression. Of them, some 141 had suffered physical injuries (51 per cent had soft tissue injuries, 36 per cent bony injuries and 13 per cent had spinal injuries).

Among the physically injured victims, some 87 (62 per cent) developed the PTSD. And of the 69 victims who did not suffer physical injuries, some 32 (46 per cent) developed the PTSD.

Dr Nasar said the results indicated a significant relationship between the PTSD and physical injury. The people who suffered physical injuries were more prone to such trauma, he added.

The number of victims who developed depression was 141 (67 per cent) and those who developed the PTSD and depression were 96 in number. The remaining 23 were those who developed the PTSD, but did not have depression.

The PTSD is a psychiatric condition that can develop following any traumatic catastrophic experience in life. It has a set of typical symptoms that develop after a person sees, is involved in, or hears of an extreme traumatic stressor. The person reacts to this experience with fear and helplessness, persistently relives the event and tries to avoid being reminded of it.

Studies suggest that the appearance of the disorder roughly correlates with the severity of stressors; but not every response to such events is a post-traumatic stress disorder like 90 per cent of Vietnam veterans met diagnostic criteria of the PTSD. Forty-three per cent had at least one other diagnosis. Epidemiological studies found lifetime prevalence for the PTSD of 7.8 to 9.2 per cent which is double in females.