Abstract
It is a sobering fact that the average age of the surviving veterans of the Second World War is now close to 80 years. The available information indicates that the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in all Second World War veterans is slightly higher than the 15% lifetime prevalence found in Vietnam War veterans, although there are few reliable studies on which to base this conclusion. It is, however, consistent with the finding that combat stress, based on casualty rates, during periods of the Vietnam War was equivalent to the severity of combat stress in the Second World War. There are several epidemiological studies (Beebe, 1975; Tennant et al, 1986) of more specific Second World War veteran groups such as Far East prisoners of war and, predictably, they show higher PTSD prevalence rates, ranging between 30 and 50%.
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