[Traumatic experiences in elderly Germans. Importance for mental and physical health at a population level].

BACKGROUND

World War II (WWII) is probably the most distressing and fatal historical event in Europe's recent past. Research on mental and physical health sequelae of these traumatic experiences from WWII has only started recently.

OBJECTIVES

An overview on the findings from several population-based studies investigating the mental and physical health outcomes of traumatic experiences in the German elderly (born prior to 1946), especially from WWII, is given.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The results presented here are based on several population-based representative studies regarding several aspects of mental and physical health in the elderly.

RESULTS

About 40-50 % of the elderly German population report at least one traumatic event, mostly from WWII. Traumatic experiences are related to higher rates of depressive and somatoform disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and physical morbidity, which are associated with increased health care utilization.

CONCLUSION

The findings underline that the negative effects on health are long-term, manifold, and serious. Some of the elderly need psychotherapeutic interventions. Thus, a specific internet-based psychotherapeutic approach (ITT) is briefly presented. However, the majority of the elderly generally use other kinds of medical care, such as primary care, inpatient care, and geriatric care. It seems useful and necessary to pay more attention to the historical and biographical backgrounds of the patients to see and understand the current symptoms from this aspect.