This issue features papers on consequences of trauma, psychiatric epidemiology, somatization and genetics.

In their editorial Breslau and colleagues (pp. 573–576) discuss two related issues: the linkage in PTSD between trauma and specific symptoms, and the place of the disorders that often occur co- morbidly with PTSD. They argue for the centrality of the first in the delineation of PTSD. The symptoms that follow trauma are the subject of several empirical papers later in the issue. Mayou & Bryant (pp. 671–675) report a range of symptoms 3 years after a road traffic accident, Altier et al. (pp. 677–685) report a variety of psychological disturbances 5 years after severe burns, and Simpson & Tate (pp. 687–697) report high rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts after traumatic brain injury. In a related paper Davidson and colleagues (pp. 661–670) examine in detail the effects of sertraline on PTSD.