Seniors at High Risk of Symptoms of PTSD after Slip and Falls

Senior veterans who suffer a slip and fall accident are at a high risk of suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the results of a new study, elderly people who suffered injuries in a fall, over the next few days suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, an anxiety -related condition over the next few days. The researchers analyzed more than 100 people above the age of 65, who had suffered a slip and fall accident, and been injured seriously enough to require a visit to the hospital. They found that out of 100 people, 27 showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that is very often seen in people, who have just survived a life-threatening or dangerous condition. Examples of such conditions include a natural disaster, serious auto trucking accident, fire or explosion. For a senior citizen, a slip and fall accident is a traumatic event, because seniors are well aware that their risks of surviving the fall are very low. They are also aware that even if they survive the injury, they could probably require extensive treatment, including hospitalization and multiple surgeries. That probably explains the extreme trauma they suffer when they experience a fall, and the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder that emerge soon after the fall. The researchers found that some categories of persons or elderly persons were much more likely to report symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, compared to the others. Women, for instance, were more at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder after a fire accident. Unemployed people and those with a lower level of education, as well as persons, who already had suffered injuries to the back or chest earlier, were more likely to report these symptoms.