Comorbidities with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among combat veterans: 15 years postwar analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the prevalence of somatic diseases among combat veterans and their contemporaries who were not exposed to the traumatic experience at the battlefield, and to determine whether socio-demographic factors, exposure to war-time trauma and/or injury might predict individual somatic diseases. The study included 1,558 subjects living in south Croatia: 501 male combat veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the corresponding control group of 825 men who were not exposed to combat experience. Veterans with PTSD, regardless of the length of time spent in war, suffered more often from cardiovascular, dermatological, musculoskeletal, pulmonary and metabolic diseases than corresponding control subjects who were not exposed to combat experience. The predictors of cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and malignant diseases in veterans were age, length of time spent in combat, having been wounded. A longer period in the combat zone was associated with arrhythmias in veterans with PTSD complicated with other psychiatric comorbidities. PTSD as a result of exposure to war trauma increases the possibility of developing somatic diseases.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd): A Narrative Review

“…American war veterans with PTSD, 55 years and older, had increased risk for CVD generally, and in particular myocardial infarction, and peripheral vascular disease as well as congestive heart failure, compared to veterans without PTSD (Beristianos et al 2016). Similarly, in a sample of 501 Croatian war veterans suffering from PTSD, aged between 36 and 65 years, the incidence of arterial hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias and myocardial infarction was significantly higher compared to a healthy control group (Britvi et al 2015). It is now well-established that PTSD is independently associated with increased risk for coronary artery disease and related mortality (Edmondson & Cohen 2013, Edmondson et al 2013).…”

“…In addition to numerous psychopathological and societal consequences of PTSD, this disorder increases the possibility of developing somatic illnesses, namely musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, dermatological, pulmonary, metabolic, and, most notably, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (Britvi et al 2015, Pacella et al 2013. Given these serious implications, the aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the up-to-date research of the associations between PTSD and various biological, psychological and behavioral CVD risk factors.…”

Health-Related Quality of Life of Ex-Prisoners of War Affected by Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 25 Years After Captivity

“…The items are related to specific symptoms in the past month. Items were rated on a 5-point scale (0-"Not at all", 1-"A little bit", 2-"Moderately", 3-"Quite a bit", and 4-"Extremely") and four subscales (clusters) were formed: B-Intrusion (items 1-5), C-Avoidance (items 6-7), D-Negative alterations in cognitions and mood (items [8][9][10][11][12][13][14], and E-Alterations in arousal and reactivity (items 15-20) (American Psychiatric Association 2013, Wortmann et al 2016). Cluster scores were calculated as an average score of corresponding items.…”

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Italy: a comprehensive evaluation of all the ICD comorbidities and gender-related differences

“…Although it has been largely investigated in the literature, the association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and medical comorbidities is still controversial, mainly because the majority of the studies focused on specific medical conditions [1][2][3][4] or populations such as veterans [5,6]. According to a review [7], PTSD was associated with greater frequency and severity of cardio-respiratory and gastrointestinal complaints, while a recent study highlighted that chronic or neck problems, frequent headaches, arthritis or rheumatism and hypertension were highly prevalent in adults with PTSD [8].…”