Post-traumatic stress disorder : The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) Treatment Guidelines for Psychiatric Disorders

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most prevalent anxiety disorders, both in terms of lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates documented in epidemiological studies worldwide. The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) study conducted in the USA, for example, found the lifetime prevalence of PTSD to be 6.8% while the 12-month prevalence was 3.5%. The South African Stress and Health Study (SASH) documented lower lifetime (2.3%) and 12-month (0.6%) rates, although PTSD was among the anxiety disorders with the highest proportion of severe cases (36% of all individuals diagnosed with PTSD were severely ill). High rates of PTSD (19.9%) have also been documented among South African patients attending primary healthcare clinics.