Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects more than mindDisorder can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of dying earlyVeterans had PTSD was 48 percent more likely to die from any cause during the study(Health.com)--disorder (PTSD) Post-traumatic stress affects more than brains. disturbance can damage blood vessels and increases the risk of dying prematurely, according to new research presented today at an annual meeting of the American Cup.
The study included approximately 286000 mostly male veterans aged between 45 and 81 who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and conflicts dating back to the Korean war.
Veterinarians with PTSD--representing approximately 10 percent of study participants--had more than twice the risk that die during the study 10-year compared with peers without disturbance, found researchers.
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Twenty-nine percent of veterinarians with PTSD died during the study, compared with 8 percent of veterinarians without PTSD.(The overall mortality study was 13 percent).
The increased risk of death associated with PTSD even after researchers controlled for factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and smoking.
A separate analysis involving scans heart from 637 of Veterans found that men and women with PTSD had more calcium buildup in the arteries by vets without metatraymatikoy stress. calcium Buildup is a hallmark of atherosclerosis (also known as hardening of the arteries), which can lead to heart attacks.
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Among veterans with similar degrees of calcium buildup, were those who had PTSD 48 percent more likely to die from any cause during the study and 41 percent more likely to die from heart disease than those without PTSD, according to the study, which was led by Naser Ahmadi, MD, a cardiologist in greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center.
"If a vet has PTSD, they must be under surveillance for cardiovascular disease as they age," says Joseph Boscarino, PhD, a senior researcher at Geisinger Center for health research in Danville, Pennsylvania, and an expert on the link between stress and physical illness metatraymatikoy.
Boscarino did not participate in the new study.PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs after exposure to a traumatic event, including sexual abuse, and military battle.
People with the condition experience recurring, intrusive memories about the event, and may also experience emotional numbness and detachment.
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Previous studies have linked with a greater risk of dying PTSD and heart disease, but the new study is the first to explore what lies behind the relationship.
The explanation is probably tortuous, says Laura Kubzansky, PhD, associate professor at the Harvard School of Public health in Boston. Inflammation resulting from constant anxiety may participate, says, but other factors or unhealthy behaviors--such as downloading is insufficient exercise--may be partially responsible, as well.
"People with PTSD are trying to make themselves feel better in lots of different ways," says Kubzansky, which do not take part in the study of Dr. Ahmadi.
Behaviors such as smoking "clearly contribute, but there is something else going on."It is not clear from the study if treating PTSD may decrease a person risk atherosclerosis or heart disease.
In addition, Dr. Ahmadi says that we should treat PTSD using efficient techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy, preferably as soon as possible after the traumatic event. "If you treat PTSD, is like a spiral, "he says.
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Boscarino says that thousands of veterans have contacted him to ask whether they can make disability claims for heart disease and metatraymatikoy stress Veterans Administration.
Says that "the community veteran is now very disappointed because they cannot take a decision on the issue [of TEXAS],". "Each case must be fought over and over again, which is not the case for Agent Orange ...or other exposures military disability. "
Dr. Ahmadi presented the findings at the American Heart Association's annual scientific sessions meeting highlights recent heart-related research and treatment advances. Unlike the studies published in medical journals, the research presented at the meeting has not been checked by independent experts in the field.Enter to win a monthly contest Makeover room from MyHomeIdeas. comCopyright Magazine health 2010
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