Thousands of young people are living with post-traumatic stress disorder, with most cases going untreated, a Channel 4 documentary has revealed.
About 311,000 16- to 24-year-olds in England and Wales have PTSD, with most cases linked to personal assault and violence, according to figures estimated for the show.
Low awareness of the symptoms and the difficulty of diagnosing PTSD means that 70% of cases go untreated. If the NHS offered more early intervention therapy, it could save £2.4bn in taxpayer money, according to Channel 4’s analysis of research by King’s College London and Office for National Statistics data.
“When untreated, PTSD – it becomes a chronic condition. It becomes highly disabling. People’s lives can be fundamentally changed,” said Dr Michael Duffy, a psychological trauma specialist at Queen’s University Belfast, who features on the show. He added that it could be more common in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.
Source: The Guardian, 4 July 2023
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