Women are twice as likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than men, says GlobalData

The number of 12-month total prevalent cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was higher in women than in men in the seven major markets (7MM*), with 5.5 million cases (32.05 per cent) in men compared to 11.7 million cases (67.95 per cent) in women in 2018, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

The 12-month total prevalent cases of PTSD across the 7MM are projected to increase from 17.1 million in 2018 to 17.8 million in 2028, equating to a growth rate of 0.43 per cent, where the total prevalent cases among women outnumber men by an increase of approximately two times.

The company’s latest report, ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Epidemiology Forecast to 2028’ reveals that in the 7MM combined, patients of age group 18–39 years contributed the highest proportion of the 12-month total prevalent cases of PTSD with 45.07 per cent (7.7 million cases). This increase is partly attributable to the moderately rising trend in the prevalence of PTSD, combined with the dynamic population demographics in the next decade.

Arunkumar NV, Epidemiologist at GlobalData comments, “Despite the attention PTSD has received, the fundamental nature of the syndrome is poorly understood. Although it is not clearly understood how well risk factors predict the development of PTSD, sex seems to have a strong association to developing PTSD, with the risk for women being twice as high as it is for men.”

*7MM: US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan