Table 1.
Sample characteristics and covariates, overall and by trauma/PTSD level, among 33,327 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II PTSD sub-study. a
| Full sample (n=33, 327) | No trauma (n=5, 945) | Trauma, no lifetime PTSD symptoms (n=8,620) | Trauma, lifetime PTSD symptoms, no diagnosis (n=15,876) | Trauma, lifetime PTSD diagnosis, no past-month PTSD diagnosis (n=2,471) | Trauma, past-month PTSD diagnosis (n=415) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD) | 64.7 (4.6) | 64.8 (4.6) | 64.9 (4.5) | 64.6 (4.6) | 63.9 (4.6) | 64.0 (4.6) |
| Race, % | ||||||
| White | 96.3 | 96.1 | 96.2 | 96.4 | 95.5 | 95.9 |
| Non-white | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
| Education, % | ||||||
| Associate degree | 25.0 | 27.2 | 26.6 | 23.9 | 21.4 | 28.0 |
| Bachelor’s degree | 41.1 | 42.1 | 41.0 | 41.1 | 39.5 | 39.7 |
| Master’s degree | 28.9 | 26.8 | 27.8 | 30.0 | 32.0 | 26.3 |
| Doctorate degree | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 7.1 | 6.1 |
| Marital status, % | ||||||
| Married | 74.5 | 77.2 | 77.2 | 73.7 | 65.8 | 60.2 |
| Divorced or separated | 12.2 | 9.7 | 10.7 | 12.9 | 17.8 | 21.5 |
| Widowed | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 8.1 | 10.2 |
| In domestic partner ship | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| Single | 5.3 | 6.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.4 |
| Other marital status | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Past-month depression b status, % | ||||||
| Probable depression | 22.3 | 15.8 | 10.3 | 25.2 | 47.5 | 91.5 |
| No probable depression | 77.7 | 84.2 | 89.7 | 74.8 | 52.5 | 8.5 |
PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder (defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Version 5). SD = standard deviation. Missing values are not included in percentages. 3.2% were missing on education. 0.5% were missing on marital status. 3.5% were missing on 4 or more individual depression symptoms out of 10 and were coded as missing for probable depression. Mean imputation was used on individual depression symptoms for women missing on 3 or fewer symptoms. 0.5% of participants with trauma did not endorse any PTSD symptoms and also did not select “none of the above” under the list of symptoms; they were coded as having no symptoms as long as they continued to the rest of the survey. Up to 0.5% (varies by symptom) of participants who endorsed one or more lifetime PTSD symptoms left the corresponding past-month symptom severity question blank; they were coded as “not at all” for that symptom’s past-month severity.
Probable depression was defined by a score of 10 or greater on the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.