Dataset Information

Association between posttraumatic stress disorder and inflammation: a twin study.

ABSTRACT: The association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with cardiovascular disease risk may be mediated by inflammation. Our objective was to examine the association between PTSD and measures of inflammation and to determine whether these associations are due to shared familial or genetic factors. We measured lifetime history of PTSD using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV in 238 male middle-aged military veteran twin pairs (476 individuals), selected from the Vietnam Era Twins Registry, who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline. We assessed inflammation using levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, white blood cells, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Geometric mean levels and percent differences by PTSD were obtained from mixed-model linear regression analyses with adjustment for potential confounders. Within-pair analysis was conducted to adjust for shared family environment and genetics (monozygotic pairs). Overall, 12.4% of participants had a lifetime history of PTSD. Adjusted mean levels of hsCRP and ICAM-1 were significantly higher among those with vs. without PTSD [hsCRP: 1.75 vs. 1.31mg/l (33% difference); ICAM-1: 319 vs. 293ng/ml (9% difference)]. Adjustment for depression rendered the association of PTSD with hsCRP non-statistically significant. For IL-6, no consistent association was seen. Within-pair analysis produced associations that were similar in direction for all three markers but lesser in magnitude for hsCRP and IL-6. There was no evidence of interaction by zygosity. Elevated hsCRP and ICAM-1 are associated with PTSD, and these associations may be confounded by shared non-genetic, antecedent familial and environmental factors.

SUBMITTER: Plantinga L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3641167 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Association between posttraumatic stress disorder and inflammation: a twin study.

Plantinga Laura L Bremner J Douglas JD Miller Andrew H AH Jones Dean P DP Veledar Emir E Goldberg Jack J Vaccarino Viola V

Brain, behavior, and immunity 20130204

The association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with cardiovascular disease risk may be mediated by inflammation. Our objective was to examine the association between PTSD and measures of inflammation and to determine whether these associations are due to shared familial or genetic factors. We measured lifetime history of PTSD using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV in 238 male middle-aged military veteran twin pairs (476 individuals), selected from the Vietnam Era Twins Regis ...[more]

PMID: 23379997

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAdverse mental health conditions including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety are prevalent among patients who survive myocardial infarctions (MI) and are associated with adverse outcomes. The mechanisms underlying these associations, however, are not well understood. Inflammatory pathways may mediate the cardiovascular outcomes of patients with mental health disorders. We examined the bidirectional association between PTSD symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers in a young/middle-aged post MI population. We further examined how this association may differ between women and men as well as between Black and non-Black individuals.MethodsParticipants included individuals with early onset MI between the ages 25 and 60. Mental health scores for depression, PTSD, perceived stress, and anxiety as well as inflammatory biomarkers, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), were collected at baseline and at six-month follow up. We examined the bidirectional changes in mental health symptoms and inflammatory biomarkers between baseline and follow-up.ResultsAmong 244 patients in the study (mean age: 50.8, 48.4% female, 64.3% Black), the geometric means for IL-6 level and hsCRP at rest were 1.7 pg/mL and 2.76 mg/L, respectively. Mental health scores at baseline did not consistently predict changes in inflammatory biomarkers at follow-up. However, baseline levels of both IL-6 and hsCRP were robustly associated with an increase in re-experiencing PTSD symptoms at 6 months: in adjusted linear mixed models, there was a 1.58-point increase in re-experiencing PTSD symptoms per unit of baseline hsCRP (p = 0.01) and 2.59-point increase per unit of baseline IL-6 (p = 0.02). Once the analysis was stratified by race, the association was only noted in Black individuals. Baseline inflammation was not associated with change in any of the other mental health symptom scores.ConclusionMarkers of inflammation are associated with an increase in post-event PTSD symptoms in younger or middle-aged patients who experienced an MI, especially Black patients. These results suggest a mechanistic link between inflammation and the development of PTSD among individuals with cardiovascular disease.

Project description:Importance:Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Improvement in PTSD has been associated with improved self-reported physical health and hypertension; however, there is no literature, to our knowledge, on whether PTSD improvement is associated with T2D risk. Objective:To examine whether clinically meaningful PTSD symptom reduction is associated with lower risk of T2D. Design, Setting, and Participants:This retrospective cohort study examined Veterans Health Affairs medical record data from 5916 patients who received PTSD specialty care between fiscal years 2008 and 2012 and were followed up through fiscal year 2015. Eligible patients had 1 or more PTSD Checklist (PCL) scores of 50 or higher between fiscal years 2008 and 2012 and a second PCL score within the following 12 months and at least 8 weeks after the first PCL score of 50 or higher. The index date was 12 months after the first PCL score. Patients were free of T2D diagnosis or an antidiabetic medication use for 12 months before the index date and had at least 1 visit after the index date. Data analyses were completed during January 2019. Exposures:Reduction in PCL scores during a 12-month period was used to define patients as those with a clinically meaningful improvement (?20-point PCL score decrease) and patients with less or no improvement (<20-point PCL score decrease). Main Outcomes and Measures:Incident T2D diagnosed during a 2- to 6-year follow-up. Results:Medical records from a total of 1598 patients (mean [SD] age, 42.1 [13.4] years; 1347 [84.3%] male; 1060 [66.3%] white) were studied. The age-adjusted cumulative incidence of T2D was 2.6% among patients with a clinically meaningful PCL score decrease and 5.9% among patients without a clinically meaningful PCL score decrease (P?=?.003). After control for confounding, patients with a clinically meaningful PCL score decrease were significantly less likely to develop T2DM compared with those without a clinically meaningful decrease (hazard ratio, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.26-0.98). Conclusions and Relevance:The findings suggest that clinically meaningful reductions in PTSD symptoms are associated with a lower risk of T2D. A decrease in PCL score, whether through treatment or spontaneous improvement, may help mitigate the greater risk of T2D in patients with PTSD.

Project description:ImportancePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Existing literature has adjusted for obesity in combination with other confounders, which does not allow estimating the contribution of obesity alone on the association of PTSD with incident T2DM.ObjectiveThe current study was designed to determine if obesity accounted for the association between PTSD and incident T2DM.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study used data from Veterans Health Administration medical records collected from patients with PTSD and without PTSD from 2008 to 2015. Patients were eligible for study inclusion if they were free of prevalent PTSD and T2DM for 12 months prior to index date. To estimate whether the association of PTSD and incident T2DM remained independent of obesity, Cox proportional hazard models were computed before and after adding obesity to the model and then further expanded by adding psychiatric disorders, psychotropic medications, physical conditions, smoking status, and demographics. Additional Cox models were computed to compare the risk of incident T2DM in patients with PTSD with and without obesity. Data analysis was completed from February 2018 to May 2018.ExposuresTwo International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for PTSD in the same 12 months and obesity, defined by a body mass index of 30 or more or an ICD-9 code for obesity.Main outcomes and measuresIncident T2DM, as defined by ICD-9 codes.ResultsAmong 2204 patients without PTSD, the mean (SD) age was 47.7 (14.3) years; 1860 (84.4%) were men, 1426 (64.7%) were white, and 956 (43.4%) were married. Among 3450 patients with PTSD, the mean (SD) age was 42.8 (14.2) years; 2983 (86.5%) were men, 2238 (64.9%) were white, and 1525 (44.2%) were married. The age-adjusted association between PTSD and incident T2DM was significant (hazard ratio [HR], 1.33 [95% CI, 1.08-1.64]; P = .01), and after adding obesity to the model, this association was reduced and no longer significant (HR, 1.16 [95% CI, 0.94-1.43]; P = .18). Results of the full model, which included additional covariate adjustment, revealed no association between PTSD and incident T2DM (HR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.64-1.10]; P = .19). Among patients with PTSD with obesity, the age-adjusted incidence of T2DM was 21.0 per 1000 person-years vs 5.8 per 1000 person-years in patients without obesity. In patients without PTSD, it was 21.2 per 1000 person-years for patients with obesity vs 6.4 per 1000 person-years in those without obesity.Conclusions and relevanceIn this study of patients who use the Veterans Health Administration for health care, obesity moderated the association between PTSD and incident T2DM. The incidence of T2DM in patients with PTSD who are not obese is similar to the national incidence rate in the United States. These results suggest PTSD is not likely to have a causal association with incident T2DM. Future research is needed to determine if PTSD remission can lead to weight loss and reduced T2DM incidence.

Dataset Information

Association between posttraumatic stress disorder and inflammation: a twin study.

Publications

Association between posttraumatic stress disorder and inflammation: a twin study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets