Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:913-917
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder and its clinical significance among Southeast Asian refugees
JD Kinzie, JK Boehnlein, PK Leung, LJ Moore, C Riley and D Smith
Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201-3098.
All 322 patients at a psychiatric clinic for Indochinese refugees were
surveyed to determine the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If PTSD was not diagnosed at the time of initial evaluation, a structured
reinterview was performed. Seventy percent of the patients (N = 226) met
the criteria for a current diagnosis of PTSD, and an additional 5% (N = 15)
met the criteria for a past diagnosis. The Mein had the highest rate of
PTSD (93%) and the Vietnamese the lowest (54%). Of the patients with PTSD
who were enrolled in the clinic before March 1988, 46% (N = 87) were given
a diagnosis of PTSD only after the reinterview. PTSD is a common disorder
among Indochinese refugees, but the diagnosis is often difficult to make.
