Study: Learning More About PTSD From Mass Shootings
KYW's Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Over the past decade we have seen an alarming increase in the number of mass shootings here in the United States and throughout the world.
One of the unfortunate results of this is the fact that we are now able to conduct medical studies looking at the effects of this violence on survivors.
This is teaching is a great deal about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
A study in the Journal Neurology took a look at adolescent survivors of a mass shooting at a Norwegian summer camp that left 69 dead and 33 wounded.
The researchers found that there was a significantly increased risk of migraine and tension-type headaches in survivors far above expected levels.
The researchers say that although they know a great deal about the psychological effects of these types of attacks and other extreme violence on survivors, they're only beginning to skim the surface as they learn about physical effects.
