- New research, published this month, found that 4.74% of over-50s in Northern Ireland suffer from PTSD.
- This figure relates specifically to people living with PTSD right now rather than counting all individuals who have experienced the condition at some point in their lives.
- Among those with PTSD, almost 60% state that the worst traumatic event in their lives is directly Troubles related.
- Previous research across 24 countries found that around 3.9% of people will experience PTSD at some point in their lives. Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will experience PTSD. It is also possible to recover from PTSD.
On 6 December 2025, the Sunday Times published an article with the following headline and subheadline:
“The Troubles’ lasting scar: 1 in 20 over-50s in NI have PTSD
“A new study shows the conflict’s enduring legacy continues to affect cognitive health”
This article was highlighted on social media, including a 9 December post on Facebook by The Times and Sunday Times account which stated:
“Almost one in 20 people over the age of 50 in Northern Ireland are living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study.
“Nearly 60% of those with PTSD reported the Troubles as their worst traumatic exposure, despite the violence ending over 25 years ago.”
The post also included the following image:
Figure 1 – source: Times and Sunday Times/Facebook
Is this correct?
There are two aspects to this claim:
- Almost one in 20 people in NI aged 50 or more suffer from PTSD.
- Of those people, nearly 60% reported the Troubles as the source of their most significant trauma.
Both these aspects are supported by evidence.
A recent study from academics at Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin found that 4.74% of all over-50s in Northern Ireland suffer from PTSD.
This percentage is not a measure of all people who have ever experienced PTSD – it relates to the number of individuals living with the condition right now.
The research also found that, of those suffering from PTSD, the self-reported worst traumatic event among almost 60% of participants was directly related to the Troubles.
This study is central to the newspaper article, and the Sunday Times’ reporting covers its findings accurately and in full context. This research provides clear evidence in support of the claim.
For more information, including some details about PTSD and its broad prevalence around the world, read on.
- Source
FactCheckNI contacted reporter Lynne Kelleher about her article. She pointed us to the study cited in her article and said she had also spoken to an academic involved in the research to inform her journalism.
- Troubles
We have written previously about the number of deaths during the conflict in Northern Ireland. According to the Sutton Index of Deaths, there were 3,532 deaths related to the Troubles between 1969 and 2001.
Ulster University’s CAIN archive details how, between 1969 and 2007:
- Approximately 47,541 people were injured
- There were 36,923 shootings and 16,209 bombings
- As of 1998, the largest group (54%) of the deaths as a result of the conflict and (68%) of those injured were civilians
A 2025 Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) study of trauma and childhood adversities, found that almost half the population in Northern Ireland had witnessed conflict related violence (47.5%), while 29% people in the 2023 NI Life and Times Survey reported that conflict had impacted their mental health.
- What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition which can develop in individuals after they experience a traumatic event, and can involve re-experiencing traumatic events through nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance of traumatic reminders, and a heightened sense of threat.
An analysis of WHO World Mental Health Surveys published in 2017 found that 70% of people globally will experience a potentially traumatic event during their lifetime. However, most people who experience a traumatic event do not go on to develop PTSD, while people can also recover from PTSD.
Based on analysis of 24 countries, a 2017 paper in Psychological Medicine estimated that 3.9% of the world population has experienced PTSD at some point in their lives.
The same paper found that for respondents who experienced a traumatic event, the lifetime prevalence of PTSD – meaning the proportion of people who experienced PTSD at some point in their lives – was 5.6%.
Other research indicates that whether someone who experiences a traumatic event goes on to develop PTSD depends on the type of trauma. PTSD is especially common in cases of sexual violence. It is also high amongst people who have been exposed to violent conflict or war.
- Claim
The Sunday Times article (published online on 6 December and the following day in print) said that one in 20 over-50s in NI have PTSD and that “[n]early 60% of those with PTSD reported the Troubles as their worst traumatic exposure, despite the violence ending over 25 years ago.”
The article highlighted information ultimately published in a 2026 research paper in the journal Social Science & Medicine, produced in collaboration between academics at QUB and Trinity College Dublin (TCD).
The paper is about PTSD and memory function in older adults exposed to civilian conflict. Findings are drawn from analysis of the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) which was collected between December 2013 and March 2016. The study included extensive questions about the symptoms of PTSD, several questions about the participants’ experience of events relating to the Troubles.
The research found a current PTSD prevalence among over-50s in NI of 4.74%, which the authors say is “high relative to other international estimates.”
This is not a lifetime prevalence figure, accounting for people who have experienced PTSD at some point in their lives – it represents those who currently have PTSD in the here and now. The authors of the paper state that:
“This study demonstrates that the self-reported worst [traumatic event] of nearly 60% of participants was directly Troubles-related.”
The Sunday Times article accurately represents the findings of newly-published research (research which provides clear supporting evidence for this claim) and publishes it in context.
- Other research
The Northern Ireland Study of Health and Stress (NISHS) was conducted as part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative between 2004 and 2008. This involved 1,986 face-to-face interviews about a range of mental health conditions, including PTSD, with questions about traumatic life events. This study led to a large body of work on the psychological impact of the conflict in Northern Ireland (see examples here and here).
The most comprehensive publicly available report on the NISHS is 2011’s Troubled Consequences: A Report on the Mental Health Impact of Civil Conflict in Northern Ireland.
This body of work estimates that in Northern Ireland, amongst people who were over 18:
- 60.6% had a lifetime traumatic event.
- 39.0% experienced a presumed conflict-related event.
- Men were significantly more likely to experience any traumatic event and most conflict-related event types.
- The lifetime prevalence of PTSD was 8.8% (experiencing PTSD at some point in life).
- The 12-month prevalence of PTSD was 5.1% (experiencing PTSD in the last 12 months).
These studies found that Northern Ireland had the highest PTSD rate of all 14 counties included in the World Mental Health surveys.
