While previous studies have provided substantial valuable information concerning the comorbidity of PTSD and AD, conclusions from clinical studies cannot be generalized to community populations. Knowledge of the clinical presentation, course, and risk factors of comorbidity of PTSD-AD among general population is important for understanding etiologic connections and to develop more effective prevention and treatment interventions. To fill this gap, we sought to build on previous work by employing a bidirectional approach to examine the comorbidity of AD and PTSD, utilizing the 2004–2005 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). This approach provides a unique opportunity to investigate the incremental effect of having both disorders relative to either alone in regard to strength of associations with particular sociodemographic features and with other DSM-IV disorders. Specifically, we sought to: (1) provide prevalence estimates of comorbid lifetime PTSD and AD (PTSD-AD) among sociodemographic subgroups; (2) examine potential childhood and family environmental risk factors for PTSD-AD; (3) characterize the clinical presentation, course, psychosocial functioning, and comorbidity pattern of PTSD-AD; (4) Investigate the treatment seeking patterns among individuals with PTSD-AD.
