Sequelae to torture have only been described in recent years. Only few controlled and no longitudinal studies have been made. Such studies are encumbered with many difficulties. Torture victims included in documentary and scientific studies have been selected on several levels. Certain forms of exposure e.g. torture and exile, which often occur simultaneously, may cause identical clinical pictures. Thus, some of the health effects of torture may be concealed in controlled studies in which matching is very close. Small populations present a considerable risk of confounding. So far, only simple methods have been used to assess the health of torture victims quantitatively. The validity of these methods is not known. In the future, methods used for health assessment of torture victims should be evaluated. Longitudinal studies may disclose characteristics for victims with specific prognostic features and may thereby be helpful when setting priorities and choosing strategies for treatment.
1. Smeulers J . Cervical arthrosis in a young man subjected to electric shock during imprisonment . Lancet1975; I:1249–50.
2.
2. Kjærsgaard AR , Genefke IK . Tortur i Uruguay og Argentina . Ugeskr Læger1977; 139:1057–9 (Summary in English).
3.
3. Report of an Amnesty International mission to Northern Ireland 28 November — 6 December 1977. Amnesty International Publications, London, 1978.
4.
4. Report of an Amnesty International Mission to Spain 3–28 October 1979. Amnesty International Publications, London, 1980.
5.
5. Chile, Evidence of torture. Amnesty International Publications, London, 1983.
6.
6. Rasmussen OV , Dam AM , Nielsen IL . Torture: A study of Chilean and Greek victims. In: Evidence of torture. Amnesty International Publications, London, 1977.
7.
7. Cathcart LM , Berger P , Knazan B . Medical examination of torture victims applying for refugee status . Can Med Assoc1979; 121:179–84.
8.
8. Allodi F , Cowgill G . Ethical and psychiatric aspects of torture. A Canadian study . Can J Psychiatry1982; 27:98–102.
9.
9. Domnovitch E , Berger PB , Wawer MJ , Etlin DD , Marshall JC . Human torture: Description and sequelae of 104 cases . Can Fam Physician1984; 30:827–30.
10.
10. Petersen HD , Abildgaard U , Daugaard G , Jess P , Marcussen H , Wallach M : Psychological and Physical Long-term effects of torture . Scand J Soc Med1985; 13:89–93.
11.
11. Allodi F , Randall GR , Lutz EL , Quiroga J , Zunzunegui MV , Kolff CA , Deutsch A , Dian R . Physical and psychiatric effects of torture. Two medical studies. In: Stover E , Nightingale EO , eds. The breaking of bodies and minds. W. H. Freeman & Co , 1985:58–78.
12.
12. Petersen HD , Jacobsen P . Psychical and physical symptoms after torture. A prospective controlled study . Forensic Sci Int1985; 29:179–89.
13.
13. Thorvaldsen P . Torturfølger blandt latinamerikanske flygtninge i Danmark. København: Lægeforeningens forlag, 1986. 100 pp. Thesis.
14.
14. Hougen HP , Kelstrup J , Petersen HD , Rasmussen OV . Sequelae to torture. A controlled study of torture victims living in exile . Forensic Sci Int1988; 36:153–60.
15.
15. Results of examinations of 14 Argentinian torture victims. The Danish Medical Group, Amnesty International, Copenhagen. 1979.
16.
16. Fossum A . Psykiske følger av tortur. In: Retterstøl N , Sund A , Fossum A , Heiberg AN , eds. Og livet går videre. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1982:160–71.
17.
17. Bloche MG . Uruguay's Military Physicians. Cogs in a system of state terror . JAMA1986; 255:2788–93.
18.
18. Genefke IK . Torturen i verden-den angår os alle. København: Hans Reitzel, 1986.
19.
19. Hinkle LE , Wolff HG . Communist interrogation and indoctrination of “enemies of the state” . Arch Neurol Psychiatry1956; 76:115–74.
20.
20. Somnier FE , Genefke IK . Psychotherapy for victims of torture . Br J Psychiatry1986; 149:323–9.
21.
21. Lifton RJ . Death in life. Survivors of Hiroshima. New York: Random House, 1967.
22.
22. Abildgaard U , Daugaard G , Marcussen H , Jess P , Petersen HD , Wallach M . Chronic organic psychosyndrome in Greek torture victims . Dan Med Bull1984; 31:239–42.
23.
23. Bro-Rasmussen F , Rasmussen OV . Falangatortur. Ugeskr Læger1978; 140:3197–202 (Summary in English).
24.
24. Hocking F . Psychiatric aspects of extreme environmental stress . Dis Nerv Syst1970; 31:542–5.
25.
25. Venzlaff U . Mental disorders resulting from racial persecution outside of concentration camps . Int J Soc Psychiatry1964; 10:177–83.
26.
26. Murphy HBM . Migration, culture and mental health . Psychol Med1977; 7:677–84.
27.
27. Eitinger L . Psykiatriske undersøgelser blandt flygtninge i Norge. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1958.
28.
28. Cohn J , Holzer KIM , Koch L , Severin B . Torture of children: An investigation of Chilean immigrant children in Denmark . Child Abuse Negl1981; 5:201–3.
29.
29. Agger I , Duarte A , Genefke IK , Lunde I . Torturofre-om psykoterapi af flygtninge der har været udsat for tortur . Nordisk Psykologi1985; 37:177–92.
30.
30. Amnesty International Report 1985. London: Amnesty International Publications, 1985.
31.
31. Más de mil personas detenidas durante 1983 en Euskadi. Egin 1984, January 5:6 (col 1–3).
32.
32. Hollnagel H. 40-åriges helbred. Copenhagen 1985. Thesis.
33.
33. Gordon E , Mant AK . Examination of a teacher from El Salvador . Lancet1984; I:213–4.
34.
34. Bro-Rasmussen F , Henriksen OB , Rasmussen OV , Sakellariades PD . Aseptisk knoglenekrose efter falangatortur . Ugeskr Læger1982; 144:1165–6 (Summary in English).
35.
35. Jensen TS , Genefke IK , Hyldebrandt N , Pedersen H , Petersen HD , Wejle B . Cerebral atrophy in young torture victims . N Engl J Med1983; 307: 1341
36.
36. Bech P , Kastrup M , Rafaelsen OJ . Mini-compendium of rating scales for states of anxiety, depression, mania, and schizophrenia with corresponding DSM-III syndromes . Acta Psychiatr Scand1986; 73 (Suppl 326): 1–37.
37.
37. Bergner M , Bobbitt RA , Carter WB , Gilson BS . The sickness impact profile: Development and final revision of a health status measure . Med Care1981; 19:787–805.
38.
38. Abramson JH . The Cornell medical index as an epidemiological tool . Am J Public Health1966; 10: 56 . (Quoted from Nord-Larsen M. At måle helbred. Socialforskningsinstuttet. Studie 38. Copenhagen: Teknisk forlag, 1979.)
