Digital technologies are used in the prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There is no clear evidence for effective gender-sensitive preventive measures for PTSD. Using Tetris during the golden hour after trauma can reduce intrusive memories and thus reduce the likelihood of PTSD in the future.

Understand the features of gender differences after psychological interventions in patients in the acute period after a traumatic event. Video games that use visual-spatial efforts over a fixed time and frequency (Tetris) may reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD.

Main inclusion criteria was an exposure to traumatic event (time from traumatic event - 0-24 hours). Respondents were assessed by PTSD symptom scale (PCL-5), peritraumatic distress scale (PDS), peritraumatic dissociative experience scale (PDES) and global functioning scale (GFS), intrusion diary (intervals: week 0, week 4, week 8, week 12).

PTSD symptoms were more severe in female participants (p ≤ 0,05). Participants in the Tetris game group recorded significantly fewer intrusive memories during the first week after the traumatic event than participants in two other groups, with a mean effect size of 57 (M = 8.73 vs. M = 23.26, t (69) = 2.80, P = 0.005, d = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.18, 1, 14). After the first month of follow-up, members of the Tetris game group reported less stress from intrusive symptoms.

Tetris intervention may reduce intrusive memories of real trauma. Women had more severe PTSD symptoms. Due to the small number of samples, the study should be repeated.

No significant relationships.

To document long-term prevalence trends and changes in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Current Major Depression (MD), Agoraphobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Panic Disorder, in two groups of people with different levels of exposure to a massive terrorist attack.

Cohort study. Two random samples of people exposed to a terrorist attack, the injured (n = 127) and community residents (n = 485) were followed and assessed, 2 and 18 months after the event.

Among the injured, 2 and 18 months after the attack, the prevalences were respectively, PTSD: 44.1% and 34%, MD: 31.5% and 23.7%, Agoraphobia: 23.8% and 20.7%, GAD: 13.4% and 12.4% and Panic Disorder: 9.4% and 11.3%. The corresponding figures among residents were PTSD: 12.3% and 3.5%, MD: 8.5% and 5.4%, Agoraphobia: 10.5% and 8.7%, GAD: 8.6%, and 8.2% and Panic Disorder 2.1% and 2.7%.

Two months after the event, the prevalence of mental disorders among both injured and residents was higher than expected levels at baseline conditions. Eighteen months after the event, psychopathological conditions did not change significantly among the injured but returned to the expected baseline rates among community residents.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is typically associated with high-risk population groups, but the risk of PTSD that is associated with trauma experienced in the community, and effect of changes in diagnostic criteria in DSM-5 on prevalence in the general population, is unknown.

Cross-sectional analysis of population-based data from 4558 adults aged 25–83 years resident in Caerphilly county borough, Wales, UK. Exposure to different traumatic events was assessed using categorisation of free-text descriptions of trauma. PTSD caseness was determined using items assessing Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) and DSM-5 A criteria and the Traumatic Screening Questionnaire.

Of the 4558 participants, 1971 (47.0%) reported a traumatic event. The most common DSM-IV A1 qualifying trauma was life-threatening illnesses and injuries (13.6%). The highest risk of PTSD was associated with assaultive violence [34.1%]. The prevalence of PTSD using DSM-IV A criteria was 14.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 12.8, 15.9%). Using DSM-5 A criteria reduced the prevalence to 8.0 (95% CI = 6.9, 9.4%), primarily due to exclusion of DSM-IV A1 qualifying events, such as life-threatening illnesses.

Nearly one-half of a general community sample had experienced a traumatic event and of these around one in seven was a DSM-IV case of PTSD. Although the majority of research has concentrated on combat, rape and assaultive violence, life threatening illness is a more common cause of PTSD in the community. Removal of this traumatic event in DSM-5 could reduce the number of cases of PTSD by around 6.0%.

The relative importance of traumatic events (TEs) in accounting for the social burden of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could vary according to cross-cultural factors. In that sense, no such studies have yet been conducted in the Spanish general population. The present study aims to determine the epidemiology of trauma and PTSD in a Spanish community sample using the randomly selected TEs method.

The European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders (ESEMeD)-Spain is a cross-sectional household survey of a representative sample of adult population. Lifetime prevalence of self-reported TEs and lifetime and 12-month prevalence of PTSD were evaluated using the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Reports of PTSD associated with randomly selected TEs were weighted by the individual-level probabilities of TE selection to generate estimates of population-level PTSD risk associated with each TE.

Road accident was the most commonly self-reported TE (14.1%). Sexual assault had the highest conditional risk of PTSD (16.5%). The TEs that contributed most to societal PTSD burden were unexpected death of a loved one (36.4% of all cases) and sexual assault (17.2%). Being female and having a low educational level were associated with low risk of overall TE exposure and being previously married was related to higher risk. Being female was related to high risk of PTSD after experiencing a TE.

Having an accident is commonly reported among Spanish adults, but two TE are responsible for the highest burden associated with PTSD: the unexpected death of someone close and sexual assault. These results can help designing public health interventions to reduce the societal PTSD burden.