The relationship among psychopathology, religiosity, and nicotine dependence in Croatian war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

• Published in: Croatian medical journal 2018-08, Vol.59 (4), p.165-177
• Main Authors: Šagud, Marina, Petrović, Božena, Vilibić, Maja, Mihaljević-Peleš, Alma, Vuksan-Ćusa, Bjanka, Radoš, Iva, Greš, Alen, Trkulja, Vladimir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analysis; Clinical Science; Combat; Croatia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Mood disorder); Depressive Disorder - psychology; Health aspects; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychological aspects; Psychopathology; Religion; Religion and Psychology; Religiousness; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Tobacco habit; Tobacco Use Disorder - psychology; Veterans; Warfare
• ISSN: 0353-9504; 1332-8166
• DOI: 10.3325/cmj.2018.59.165

To examine relationships among combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression, suicidality, nicotine dependence, and religiosity in Croatian veterans. This cross-sectional study used Combat Exposure Scale (CES) to quantify the stressor severity, PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL) to quantify PTSD severity, Duke University Religion Index to quantify religiosity, Montgomery Asberg (MADRS) and Hamilton Depression (HAM-D) rating scales to measure depression/suicidality, and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence to assess nicotine dependence. Zero-order correlations, cluster analysis, multivariate regression, and mediation models were used for data analysis. Of 69 patients included, 71% met "high religiosity" criteria and 29% had moderate/high nicotine dependence. PTSD was severe (median PCL 71), depression was mild/moderate (median MADRS 19, HAM-D 14), while suicidality was mild. A subset of patients was identified with more severe PTSD/depression/suicidality and nicotine dependence (all P