Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans.

Abstract

People who experience trauma and develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for poor health. One mechanism that could explain this risk is accelerated biological aging, which is associated with the accumulation of chronic diseases, disability, and premature mortality. Using data from 2309 post-9/11 United States military veterans who participated in the VISN 6 MIRECC's Post-Deployment Mental Health Study, we tested whether PTSD and trauma exposure were associated with accelerated rate of biological aging, assessed using a validated DNA methylation (DNAm) measure of epigenetic aging-DunedinPACE. Veterans with current PTSD were aging faster than those who did not have current PTSD, β = 0.18, 95% CI [0.11, 0.27], p < .001. This effect represented an additional 0.4 months of biological aging each year. Veterans were also aging faster if they reported more PTSD symptoms, β = 0.13, 95% CI [0.09, 0.16], p < 0.001, or higher levels of trauma exposure, β = 0.09, 95% CI [0.05, 0.13], p < 0.001. Notably, veterans with past PTSD were aging more slowly than those with current PTSD, β = -0.21, 95% CI [-0.35, -0.07], p = .003. All reported results accounted for age, gender, self-reported race/ethnicity, and education, and remained when controlling for smoking. Our findings suggest that an accelerated rate of biological aging could help explain how PTSD contributes to poor health and highlights the potential benefits of providing efficacious treatment to populations at increased risk of trauma and PTSD.

Department

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Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1038/s41398-023-02704-y

Publication Info

Bourassa, Kyle J, Melanie E Garrett, Avshalom Caspi, Michelle Dennis, Katherine S Hall, Terrie E Moffitt, Gregory A Taylor, undefined VA Mid Atlantic MIRECC Workgroup, et al. (2024). Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans. Translational psychiatry, 14(1). p. 4. 10.1038/s41398-023-02704-y Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/31454.

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Scholars@Duke

Bourassa

Kyle Bourassa

Affiliate

Kyle Bourassa is a Staff Psychologist in the Research Service of the Durham VA Medical System, an Affiliate Investigator at Georgetown University in the Department of Psychology, and a Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University Medical Center

Caspi

Avshalom Caspi

Edward M. Arnett Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Caspi’s research is concerned with three questions: (1) How do childhood experiences shape aging and the course of health inequalities across the life span?  (2) How do genetic differences between people shape the way they respond to their environments? (3) How do mental health problems unfold across and shape the life course? 

Hall

Katherine Shepherd Hall

Associate Professor in Medicine

My research is focused on developing evidence-based physical activity interventions for older adults with an eye to preserving functional independence and quality of life. I am particularly interested in developing exercise programs to promote physical and psychological well-being among older veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 


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