PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “PRISONERS OF WAR”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

[Environmental and demographic variables associated with psychiatric morbidity in former prisoners of war].

In this study, present psychiatric morbidity of 100 former prisoners of war is related to 28 environmental and demographic variables grouped in 3 periods: before, during and after WW2. With the exception of the invalidity percentage, all statistically significant relations concern variables of the first two periods. The present results are discussed at the light of former publications by the authors. It appears among others that the age variable has to be taken in consideration in the explanation of psychiatric sequels of captivity, and that the condition "invalid of war" poorly reflects the degree of psychiatric morbidity.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Environmental health issues in prisoner of war camps.

Maintaining adequate environmental health and sanitation conditions in prisoner of war camps is essential for the fulfillment of our international legal obligations under the Geneva Conventions. Insights from Desert Storm and other conflicts are discussed.

Environmental Health↗
PubMed2001

Coping with tangible and intangible traumatic losses in prisoners of war.

The study of trauma and loss has been biased towards a pathogenic perspective with relatively few investigations assessing resilience. The present paper demonstrates the role of coping, pre-captivity traumatic loss and social support at homecoming in the short and the long-term impact of tangible and intangible traumatic losses of war captivity. Two case descriptions of former prisoners of war suggest that the utilization of active coping enabled good adjustment. On the other hand, emotion-focused, passive coping strategies, pre-captivity unresolved loss, and perceived negative social support at homecoming lead to an enduring and painful psychological toll. The theoretical and clinical implications of coping with traumatic loss are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1986

Forty-year follow-up of United States prisoners of war.

The authors performed structured psychiatric examinations of 188 former prisoners of war (POWs). Sixty-seven percent had had posttraumatic stress disorder. Of those affected, 29% had fully recovered, 39% still reported mild symptoms, 24% had improved but had moderate residual symptoms, and 8% had had no recovery or had deteriorated. Presence of posttraumatic stress disorder was not significantly correlated with other mental disorders. Delayed onset was not seen. The findings confirm the DSM-III concept of and criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1980

Neurological disease in ex-Far-East prisoners of war.

In a group of 4684 ex-Far-East prisoners of war released in 1945, 679 had neurological disease; optic atrophy and peripheral neuropathy were the most common illnesses. However, in 89 patients neurological disease developed many years after their release; 35 of these patients had cord lesions unlike those seen in multiple sclerosis and other recognised diseases. In addition, Parkinson's disease often developed many years after release with a prevalence much higher than that in the normal population. The experiences that these patients had while in the Far East may have made them liable to develop cord disease and Parkinson's disease many years later.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Loss of body mass in ex-prisoners of war.

Body mass was examined in the defenders of Vukovar (n = 71) from eastern Slavonia, Republic of Croatia, immediately on release from enemy concentration camps. The sample consisted of a group of 33 male smokers who had been imprisoned for (mean +/- SD) 127.4 +/- 18.4 days (age 31.6 +/- 7.2 years) and 38 male smokers, imprisoned for 271.6 +/- 14.4 days (age 30.8 +/- 6.5 years). According to subjective estimations the prisoners of war had lost 18.4 +/- 6.1% and 21.6 +/- 10.2% respectively, in relation to body mass before the war. For comparison data were used on a healthy population of male smokers from eastern Slavonia (Vinkovci, Republic of Croatia (n = 75) aged 32.4 +/- 5.2 years taken from a study carried out in 1976. Data were analysed on body mass, body mass index, triceps, subscapular skinfolds and percentage of body fat. All parameters were statistically significantly lower in males imprisoned for 271.6 +/- 14.4 days in relation to the comparative group (P < 0.0001-0.05). A negative deviation from body mass nomogram was registered in prisoners of war in relation to the comparative group (5-16%). Basic biochemical parameters were examined in the prisoners of war. In the group imprisoned for 127.4 +/- 18.4 days statistically significant differences and pathological values of mean corpuscular volume and haematocrit were verified in relation to the group of prisoners with longer duration of imprisonment (P < 0.001). Although the prisoners of war had lost weight during imprisonment in the camps due to the frugal diet no clinical signs of malnutrition were found.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1991

Chronic morbidity of former prisoners of war and other Australian veterans.

OBJECTIVE: This report is the first summary article from a review of studies on long-term morbidity associated with war service or internment, commissioned by the Sir Edward Dunlop Medical Research Foundation. DATA SOURCES: The Medlars database, from 1966 to the present, under the terms military personnel, veterans, veterans' disability claims, combat disorders and prisoners (matched against war); databases of the Department of Veterans' Affairs (Victoria) and the Central Library, Commonwealth Department of Defence, using the term "prisoner of war"; and the microfiche listings of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, under "prisoner of war" and "repatriation". Only studies in English or French were reviewed, reaching a total of 172. STUDY SELECTION: Forty-eight studies are considered in the present summary, presenting the most significant evidence about long-term morbidity attributable to war-time experiences. Studies concerning Australian veterans are emphasised. DATA EXTRACTION: Studies considered valid were summarised for an annotated bibliography, but only reports of major public health significance are reviewed here. DATA SYNTHESIS: The review confirms that strongyloidiasis, peptic ulcer, anxiety states, depression and hepatitis B are more prevalent in former prisoners of war than in relevant comparison groups. We have not identified further diagnoses that should be attributed specifically to war-time exposures. Attribution of long-term neurological and musculoskeletal disorders to war-time exposures remains uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: Former prisoners of war and veterans constitute a population of survivors highly selected by the rigours of war and imprisonment. Occurrence of the five conditions listed above may be reasonably attributed to war-time exposure. We recommend further research on ageing (including neurological, visual, hearing and musculoskeletal disability), family disruption and rehabilitation strategies in these groups.

Australia↗
PubMed1993

The Winchester Accord: the Confederacy and the humane treatment of captive medical officers.

Civil war prisoners of war fared badly. But there was one extraordinary wartime development that promoted the humane treatment of captive enemy soldiers. Beginning in June 1862, Union and Confederate authorities regarded medical officers as non-combatants. Largely attributable to the initiative of Hunter Holmes McGuire, Stonewall Jackson's medical director, this principle, set down at Winchester, Virginia, eased the horrors of the Civil War battlefield by allowing medical personnel to continue their lifesaving work unmolested.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1981

Psychiatric illness in U.S. Air Force Viet Nam prisoners of war: a five-year follow-up.

The U.S. Air Force prisoners of war (POWs) experienced a profound degree of stress during the Viet Nam War. The psychiatric status of this population has been monitored by an ongoing voluntary follow-up program from the time of repatriation through the following five years. Data indicate a significant degree of psychiatric readjustment problems, which were greatest among POWs captured before 1969. These findings support the association of an unusually stressful environment with an increased incidence of psychiatric illness.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1994

Malnutrition and subsequent ischemic heart disease in former prisoners of war of World War II and the Korean conflict.

The harsh treatment of former prisoners of war (POWs) of World War II and the Korean conflict resulted in severe malnutrition. Although rarely linked to specific long-term medical problems, a specific marker of malnutrition, self-reported lower limb edema (presumably due to a vitamin B deficiency) was associated with a three-fold increase in subsequent death attributed to ischemic heart disease (IHD) during the follow-up period from 1967 through 1975. Although there is at present no medical basis for linking edema, which is perhaps a marker for some unmeasured risk factor, to subsequent IHD, this finding may nonetheless have medical implications for the group of former POWs and other populations with severe dietary deficiency. It also suggests there may be a need to reexamine currently held theories on malnutrition and subsequent chronic disease.

Edema↗
PubMed1992

Hospital pharmacy technicians function in Desert Storm enemy prisoner of war camps.

The 300th United States Army Reserve Field Hospital from Ashley, Pennsylvania was activated in November 1990 and deployed to Saudi Arabia in January 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm. The mission of the hospital was to treat enemy prisoners of war (EPWs) located at the 401st and 403rd Prisoner of War Camps. This article describes the role of the hospital pharmacy technicians performing their duties in the prison camp medical tent. Pharmacy technicians were added to the prison camp medical staff, which consisted of medics, physicians, and nurses to assume the challenging task of both ordering and prepackaging the large quantities of pharmaceuticals required to treat the enormous numbers of EPWs.

Drug Utilization↗
PubMed1994

PTSD among Israeli former prisoners of war and soldiers with combat stress reaction: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term impact of war captivity and combat stress reaction on rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Israeli veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur war. METHOD: One hundred sixty-four former prisoners of war (POWs), 112 veterans who had had combat stress reaction, and 184 combat veteran comparison subjects filled out the PTSD Inventory, a self-report scale based on the DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD. The inventory diagnoses past and present PTSD, assesses its intensity, and provides a symptom profile. RESULTS: Thirty-seven percent of the veterans who had had combat stress reaction, 23% of the former POWs, and 14% of the comparison subjects had had diagnosable PTSD at some time in the past. The current rates were 13%, 13%, and 3%, respectively. The results showed different recovery rates over time: almost two-thirds of the veterans with combat stress reaction who had had PTSD in the past recovered, while less than one-half of the POW group showed this improvement. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that small but significant proportions of the POWs and veterans with combat stress reaction were still suffering from PTSD almost two decades after the war. The different recovery rates in the two groups may reflect the differences in duration and severity of stressors, the impact of immediate intervention on long-term adjustment, or both.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1975

Operation homecoming: psychological observations of repatriated Vietnam prisoners of war.

While in military service as a psychiatrist stationed at Scott Air Force Base, I had the opportunity to do the psychiatric evaluations on a number of the prisoners of war returning from North Vietnam. Scott Air Force Base is an area medical center (North Central United States), and was responsible for administering the medical and psychiatric examinations on all the men whose homes were in this area. Our hospital processed 29 returning POWS, of whom I saw 14. This group of POWS was probably unique in military history in that it was comprised almost entirely of officers. Their period of confinement was considerably longer than that of the prisoners of World War II and the Korean War, with the typical Vietnam POW being in captivity about six or seven years. This paper is an attempt to share my observations and thoughts on the experience of being a Vietnam Prisoner of War.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

[Polish army hospital in Zeithain].

Polish Military Hospital in Zeithain was a prisoner-of-war hospital of Warsaw Insurgents. In the period from 13 October 1944 until 23 April 1945, in the hospital there were 1572 war prisoners, including 1029 sick and wounded. The hospital consisted of all wards, the operating theatre, X-rays unit and the laboratory. In August 1945 the hospital got repatriated.

History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1994

American military dentists as prisoners-of-war in the Pacific theatre during World War II.

Fifty-three American Military dentists were held by the Japanese as Prisoners-of-War during World War II. Throughout 40 months of captivity these men served their fellow prisoners providing dental treatment in an austere environment with "jury-rigged" equipment and supplies. A brief overview of their experiences is presented in this paper.

History, 20th Century↗