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Prevalence in males vs. females

What is prevalence?

Prevalence represents the overall proportion of individuals in a population who have PTSD. It is different from incidence, which represents only the new cases that have developed over a particular time-period. Point prevalence is the proportion of individuals in a population who have the disorder at a given point in time (e.g., at one-month post-trauma), while period prevalence is the proportion of individuals in a population who have the disorder over specific time periods (e.g., one to two months post-trauma). Lifetime prevalence is the proportion of individuals in a population who have ever had the disorder and lifetime morbid risk also includes those who had the disorder but were deceased at the time of the survey. This topic presents the evidence for the prevalence of PTSD in males vs. females. Please also see the topics on sex differences in incidence rates and sex differences on risk for PTSD.

What is the evidence for prevalence rates in males compared to females?

Moderate to high quality evidence found lifetime prevalence rates of PTSD are nearly twice as high for women than for men (measured at 65 years of age). The prevalence of PTSD in adolescents in detention centres was higher in females than in males (18.2% vs. 8.6%). The prevalence of PTSD following road traffic accidents was higher in females than in males (28% vs. 20%). The prevalence of PTSD following road traffic accidents was also higher in female than male children and adolescents (34% vs. 22%).

April 2022

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Last updated at: 2:25 pm, 4th April 2022
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Fact Sheet Technical Commentary
Tags:  Sex differences

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