Post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression among Italian Nazi concentration camp survivors: a controlled study 50 years later

Background. The study aimed to assess the current and lifetime rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression (MDD) among Nazi concentration camps survivors. Methods. We investigated 51 Italian political deportees and 47 Resistance Movement veterans who reported traumatic experiences during active service. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV was used to assess the presence of PTSD and MDD. The Dissociative Experiences Scale and the shorter version of the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist were also administered. Results. The lifetime rates of PTSD and MDD were 35.3% and 45.1% respectively among deportees and 4.3% and 6.4% among former partisans. The current rates for PTSD and MDD were 25.5 % and 33.3 % among deportees and 4.3 % and 4.3 % among former partisans. Dissociative symptoms were more severe among deportees than among Resistance movement veterans. Conclusions. Concentration camp internment, even for political reasons, appears to have severe long-term psychiatric consequences.