A new study by Boston University researchers revealed that April’s Boston Marathon bombings triggered some post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in veterans by reminding them of their years in combat.
Mark Miller, BU School of Medicine psychiatry professor and lead author of the study, said he studied veterans who were not directly impacted by the terror attacks, but were already diagnosed with psychological symptoms such as PTSD.
“We know that those most profoundly impacted by PTSD are the subset of people who develop a chronic, disabling form of it,” Miller said. “They develop what we call morbid conditions, both physical and mental problems.”
PTSD is a mental health condition that involves changes in cognitive, emotional, behavioral and psychological functioning as a result of trauma, Miller said. Symptoms often include flashbacks, nightmares, extreme anxiety and uncontrollable reactions to things that may trigger emotional memories from the initial trauma.
Miller said BUSM researchers were already following a cohort of PTSD veterans before the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. He said this was a unique opportunity for the researchers to compare the veterans’ symptoms from before and after such a big trauma.
Researchers conducted 71 telephone interviews with veterans within one week of the bombing, Miller said. Using data from an ongoing study of veterans already diagnosed with PTSD, researches were able to compare their results from before and after the bombing.
Miller said this research is different from other longitudinal PTSD studies because it analyzes the effects of various adverse life events on the veterans’ symptoms, whereas others typically study the short period of time after the trauma is experienced.
“We all know about the direct effect of the bombing on the people that were there, those who witnessed it, who were hit by shrapnel and who were hospitalized,” Miller said. “… But what we don’t really know, or haven’t documented previously, is that there is a psychological impact of terror attacks like these that extends past the people that were directly impacted.”
Miller said participants in the study did not exhibit consistent changes in symptoms from before the bombings to after. However, many of the veterans described how their symptoms worsened in various ways because of the similarity between the bombings and war zones.
38 percent of the 71 participants confirmed that the bombings, the subsequent news coverage and the lockdown of the city caused more severe emotional problems. A large number of participants also said the bombings led to more frequent flashbacks compared to before the bombings.
“Military veterans … because of their experiences in combat, being traumatized by improvised explosive devices during military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and so forth — they’re the most vulnerable to the psychic impact of these terror attacks,” Miller said.
Carol Martin, executive director of the Boston Area Trauma Recovery Network, said this type of recurring trauma is known as vicarious trauma. People already suffering from untreated PTSD do not have to directly experience a traumatic and stressful event to vicariously trigger such psychological symptoms.
“People really need to look more seriously at how mental health circumscribes all the possible ways that people can live their lives most fully and effectively,” Martin said. “…Often we think that PTSD is only in soldiers, veterans coming home from the war. But all of us, unless we’re incredibly fortunate, experience some sort of trauma … that could have benefitted from a therapeutic approach.”
Martin said TRN is working to develop local communities of trained mental health professionals who would be prepared to deal with the aftermath of large-scale calamities, such as the Boston Marathon bombings.
“We never know when the next disaster will strike — we never know when the next tragedy will hit us,” Martin said. “… It’s so important that we begin to build capacity. Our mental health system needs tremendous support and help.”
Miller said he and his fellow researchers plan to continue this study to examine the extent to which the Marathon bombings affect their sample of veterans’ symptoms over time.
He hopes the findings of this study will lead to reforms in how different response teams prepare to address future traumatic circumstances.
“This study should help inform health care systems about what kind of preparations and policies are needed for responding to similar sorts of tragedies in the future,” Miller said. “It’s helpful to know that it’s not just the people that are directly affected, but that there are psychological impacts on people who are indirectly affected, who experience the event simply through their proximity to it and the news media.”
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