WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- About 20 percent of intensive care unit survivors experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

That's the conclusion of a study by researchers who reviewed data from 15 previous studies that included 1,745 former ICU patients in the United States and a number of European countries.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Two to three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, psychological trauma and new respiratory problems were still elevated among people enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry, according to the latest New York City health department study.

TUESDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A host of new studies confirm that the effects of war linger long after the conflict ends.

The Aug. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association is a special themed issue on violence and human rights, and three studies published in that issue found that various mental health issues, such as alcohol misuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were more common after exposure to violent conflicts. The one bright spot was a study that found suicide rates weren't higher for returning combat veterans.

WASHINGTON - More than 22,000 veterans have sought help from a special suicide hot line in its first year, and 1,221 suicides have been averted, the government says.

According to a recent RAND Corp. study, roughly one in five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan displays symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, putting them at a higher risk for suicide. Researchers at Portland State University found that male veterans are twice as likely to commit suicide than men who are not veterans.

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WASHINGTON -- A Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist told senators Wednesday that cost cutting was not the reason she urged fellow clinicians at the Temple, Texas, Veterans Affairs hospital to "refrain from" diagnosing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The doctor, Norma Perez, said her e-mail March 20 was only intended to remind colleagues that they had the option of initially diagnosing patients with a less severe condition known as "adjustment disorder."

SUNDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Caregivers of deceased lung transplant patients are four to five times more likely to suffer symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the average person, researchers report.

The findings, to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on May 19, come from assessing caregivers of all University of Washington lung transplant recipients who had died within the past five years.

MONDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Children who experience the unexpected death of a parent after a long illness can suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a finding that has major implications for helping children deal with grief, say University of Georgia (UGA) researchers. "Often children who have lost a parent are given grief therapy, and we've found that grief therapy doesn't help if you don't take care of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms first," study author Rene Searles McClatchey, an adjunct professor in the UGA School of Social Work, said in a prepared statement.

MONDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Children who experience the unexpected death of a parent after a long illness can suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a finding that has major implications for helping children deal with grief, say University of Georgia (UGA) researchers.

By Amanda Gardner
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- In fields as varied as heart disease, bone health and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an explosion of knowledge in genetics is poised to revolutionize medicine, said scientists gathered at a special news conference Tuesday.

TUESDAY, March 4 (HealthDay News) -- A new study offers more evidence of a strong association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.