Longitudinal associations between post-traumatic stress disorder and metabolic syndrome severity.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with elevated risk for metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the direction of this association is not yet established, as most prior studies employed cross-sectional designs. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate bidirectional associations between PTSD and MetS using a longitudinal design.

Method

A total of 1355 male and female veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan underwent PTSD diagnostic assessments and their biometric profiles pertaining to MetS were extracted from the electronic medical record at two time points (spanning ~2.5 years, n = 971 at time 2).

Results

The prevalence of MetS among veterans with PTSD was just under 40% at both time points and was significantly greater than t

SUBMITTER: Wolf EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4925183 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature