Ukraine War
As many of you know, there is a war going occurring in Ukraine. Peace accords are trying to be made to reduce casualties and end the war. You may be asking, what does this have to do with medicine? This is how.
1 in every 3 Ukrainian Refugees Could Develop PTSD.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not solely for war veterans, it is a disorder transmittable to anyone going through trauma. This includes children and senior citizens going through the terror of warfare in Ukraine. According to the United Nations, over 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine to escape, but “approximately 30% of refugees suffer from PTSD and 30% develop a depressive condition, and these can of course occur simultaneously.” This is nearly ⅓ of all refugees. Around 12 to 15 thousand refugees are fleeing to Germany from Ukraine every day. This means that around 4000 potential PTSD patients are fleeing to Germany which is not well supplied enough to provide proficient treatment. Annually, 25,000 people are treated in Germany, and even with numerous facilities, the capacity of the psychosocial centers only covers a small part of the actual need.
Not every person who has experienced trauma develops PTSD. This is just one of many possible conditions, and some other people never even develop a mental illness. Memory disorders can also be a result of traumatic situations. Certain memories may then be stored with a structure different to the memories of nontraumatic situations. This is a real social dilemma and is unfortunately a reality.