Quality of life of Croatian veterans' wives and veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has a great impact on a patient's quality of life (QoL). People in long-term contact with a person suffering from PTSD, such as family members, may also consequently develop various emotional problems. We investigated whether chronic combat PTSD is related to lower QoL of veterans' wives. The study included 164 veterans with PTSD, 281 PTSD veterans' wives, 115 healthy non-veterans' wives and 223 men without PTSD. All participants were assessed for psychiatric morbidity (Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview) and measures of QoL (World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire - short form). In veterans, the symptoms were evaluated using Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The pattern of differences between the study groups was similar across all QoL domains. Men without PTSD had the highest scores, followed by women who were not married to PTSD patients (significantly different across all four QoL domains). PTSD veterans' wives tended to had lower scores than either of these groups. Significant differences between PTSD veterans' wives and women who were not married to PTSD patients were observed in three (out of four) QoL domains: psychological health, Z = 2.907, P = 0.022; social relationships, Z = 3.285, P = 0.006; and environmental domain, Z = 5.317, P