Gender Differences in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after road accidents

Studies recently have highlighted substantial psychiatric morbidity after serious motor vehicle accidents with acute PTSD rates ranging from 34% to 39% (1,2). Epidemiological studies conducted on the general population indicate higher rates of PTSD in women than in men (3), which is 2.38-2.49 times higher than men after being exposed to similar traumas(4). 

People with a history of depression, anxiety, other traumas, etc are at greater risk of developing PTSD after a serious road motor vehicle (1). Passengers’ injury has been categorised as a predictor of PTSD after a road accident (5). Empirical studies have examined these risk factors specifically as possible explanations for the difference in rates of PTSD in men and women. These risks might lead to gender differences in the rate of development of PTSD because of fundamentally different neurobiological or psychological factors in relation to these risk factors in men and women (6). Recent studies have shown improvement in PTSD symptoms in women after taking sertraline but not in men after taking the prescribed medication which also suggests a major gender difference in PTSD (7).

References:

1. Blanchard EB, Heckling EJ, Taylor AE, Loos W: Psychiatric morbidity associated with motor vehicle accidents. J Nerv Ment Dis 1995; 183:495–504
2. 3. Ursano RJ, Fullerton CS, Epstein RS, Crowley B, Kao T-C, Vance K, Craig KJ, Dougall AL, Baum A: Acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder in motor vehicle accident victims. Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156:589–595
3. Breslau N, Davis GC, Andreski P, Peterson E: Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in a urban population of young adults. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1991; 48:216–222
4. Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson C: Post-traumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Study.Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995; 52:1048–1060
5. Ursano RJ, Fullerton CS, Epstein RS, Crowley B, Kao T-C, Vance K, Craig KJ, Dougall AL, Baum A: Acute and chronic posttrau- matic stress disorder in motor vehicle accident victims. Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156:589–595
6. Fullerton, C. S., Ursano, R. J., Epstein, R. S., Crowley, B., Vance, K., Kao, T. C., ... & Baum, A. (2001). Gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(9), 1486-1491
7.  Brady K, Pearlstein T, Asnis GM, Baker D, Rothbaum B, Sikes CR, Farfel GM: Efficacy and safety of sertraline treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2000; 283:1837–1844
8. Henney JE: From the Food and Drug Administration. JAMA 2000; 283:596