Psychiatric symptoms in Iraqi prisoners of war

From the pool of studies assessing mental health of prisoners of war (POWS) a small proportion is related to former prisoners. The aim of this study was to estimate the psychiatric symptoms and their association with some personal characteristics of POWS before and during of imprisonment. We evaluated 60 Iraqi prisoners of war, living in Iranian camps, between 1997 and 1998. We used SCL-90 questionnaire. Based on SCL-90 test, the most and least signs were related to depression and psychosis, respectively. There was no relationship between SCL-90 test scales and duration of imprisonment or having children. More physical complaints, compulsive, depression and anxiety in prisoners with lower educational levels, more anxiety and aggression in prisoners who had no responsibilities in the camp, more physical complaints, interpersonal reactions, and GSI score in who suffered from a physical disease and more physical complaints, anxiety and GSI in prisoners who suffered from a previous psychiatric disorder were seen. Although the sample size was small in our study, there was a significant correlation between some personnel characteristics of before and during imprisonment POWS and psychiatric symptoms, which can be important for health care providers for prisoners.