PTSD May Lead to Accelerated Ageing
Researchers have revealed that people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are actually ageing faster.
For the study, scientists looked at 64 test subjects where cause of early death was linked to traumatic experiences.
The researchers studied the length of telomeres which basically act as protective caps at the end of the chromosomes. These help prevent the DNA from getting damaged.
These telomeres usually shorten with cell replication and that is also considered as a sign of the ageing process. However people with PTSD, were found to have much shorter telomeres than what their age would suggest.
People with PTSD were also at higher risk to various medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia and ulcers.
"This is the first study of its type to link PTSD, a psychological disorder with no established genetic basis, which is caused by external, traumatic stress, with long-term, systemic effects on a basic biological process such as aging," explained senior author Dilip V. Jeste, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences and director of the Center on Healthy Aging and Senior Care at UC San Diego.
The study's co-author James B. Lohr, MD, professor of psychiatry said, "These findings do not speak to whether accelerated aging is specific to PTSD, but they do argue the need to re-conceptualize PTSD as something more than a mental illness."
"Early senescence, increased medical morbidity and premature mortality in PTSD have implications in health care beyond simply treating PTSD symptoms. Our findings warrant a deeper look at this phenomenon and a more integrated medical-psychiatric approach to their care."
