Is experience as a prisoner of war a risk factor for accelerated age-related illness and disability

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the experience of internment as a Prisoner of War (POW) during World War II was associated with a higher prevalence of chronic disease and diminished functional performance in later life. DESIGN: A retrospective and prospective cohort design. SETTING: Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 101 Australian, male, ex-prisoners of the Japanese and a comparison group of 107 non-POW combatants from the same theatre of war. MEASUREMENTS: Outcome variables were self-perceived health status, hospital admissions and length of stay, number of prescription medications used, number of somatic symptoms reported, number and types of medical diagnoses, a neurology of aging clinical examination, and the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) and Physical Self Maintenance Scales (PSMS). RESULTS: Prisoners of War reported more somatic symptoms (mean 7.2 vs 5.4, P =.002) than non-POWs, had more diagnoses (mean 9.4 vs 7.7 P <.001), and used a greater number of different medications (mean 4.5 vs 3.4, P =.001). There were no differences in hospital admissions or length of stay. Among 15 broad categories of diagnosis, differences were confined to gastrointestinal disorders (POWs 63% vs non-POWs 49%, P =.032), musculoskeletal disorders (POWs 76% vs non-POWs 60%, P =.011), and cognitive disorders (excluding head injury, dementia, and stroke) (POWs 31% vs non-POWs 15%, P =.006). Of the 36 signs in the neurology of aging examination, POWs had a significantly higher proportion of seven extrapyramidal signs and six signs relating to ataxia. POWs were more likely to be impaired on the IADL scale than were non-POWs (33% vs 17%, P =.012) but not significantly more likely to be impaired on the PSMS. CONCLUSIONS: There were few differences between POWs and controls, and those differences were relatively small. Out findings do not support a major role for a catastrophic life stress in the development of chronic illness and disability in later life. However it is possible that the POW experience played a part in premature, abnormal, or unsuccessful aging in some individuals.