Mediterranean Diet Adherence, Physical Activity, and Advanced Glycation End Products in Complex PTSD: A Comprehensive Examination of Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Risk in War Veterans.

As accumulated evidence suggests that individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) encounter earlier and more frequent occurrences of cardiovascular diseases, the aim of this study was to ascertain the differences in lifestyle and cardiovascular risk between PTSD and complex PTSD patients. We enrolled 137 male war veterans with PTSD (89 had complex PTSD). The diagnosis was established based on 11th revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), and cardiovascular risk was estimated by the measurement of advanced glycation end products. Adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) was lower in the complex PTSD group (2.2% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.015). Accordingly, patients with complex PTSD had lower healthy lifestyle scores in comparison to PTSD counterparts (50.6 ± 9.7 vs. 59.6 ± 10.1, p < 0.001), and a positive association was noted between MD adherence and a healthy lifestyle (r = 0.183, p = 0.022). On the other hand, differences were not noted in terms of physical activity (p = 0.424), fat % (p = 0.571) or cardiovascular risk (p = 0.573). Although complex PTSD patients exhibit worse adherence to MD and lower healthy lifestyle scores, these differences do not seem to impact physical activity, body composition, or estimated cardiovascular risk. More research is needed to clarify if this lack of association accurately reflects the state of the PTSD population or results from insufficient statistical power.

Comorbidities with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among combat veterans: 15 years postwar analysis / Comorbilidades con el Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT) entre veteranos de guerra: un análisis a los 15 años después de la guerra

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 (AU)

El propósito de este estudio ha sido comparar la frecuencia de trastornos somáticos en veteranos de guerra y personas no expuestas a la experiencia traumática del campo de batalla, así como determinar si la exposición a factores socio-demográficos en tiempo de guerra pueden predisponer a traumas, alteraciones o trastornos somáticos. El estudio incluye 1,558 sujetos del sur de Croacia: 501 varones veteranos de guerra con síndrome de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y un grupo de control de 825 varones no expuestos a la experiencia de combate. Los veteranos con TEPT, independientemente del tiempo pasado en la guerra, desarrollan más a menudo alteraciones gastrointestinales, cardiovasculares, dermatológicas, locomotoras, pulmonares y metabólicas que los sujetos del grupo control. Los indicadores de alteraciones cardiológicas, locomotoras, entre otros, en veteranos han sido la edad, el tiempo pasado en combate y el daño allí sufrido. Un largo período en la zona de combate ha sido asociado con arritmias y otras complicaciones de tipo psiquiátrico. El TEPT, como resultado de la exposición a experiencias traumáticas del campo de batalla, incrementa la posibilidad de desarrollo de trastornos somáticos (AU)

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

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.

El propósito de este estudio ha sido comparar la frecuencia de trastornos somáticos en veteranos de guerra y personas no expuestas a la experiencia traumática del campo de batalla, así como determinar si la exposición a factores socio-demográficos en tiempo de guerra pueden predisponer a traumas, alteraciones o trastornos somáticos. El estudio incluye 1,558 sujetos del sur de Croacia: 501 varones veteranos de guerra con síndrome de estrés postraumático (TEPT) y un grupo de control de 825 varones no expuestos a la experiencia de combate. Los veteranos con TEPT, independientemente del tiempo pasado en la guerra, desarrollan más a menudo alteraciones gastrointestinales, cardiovasculares, dermatológicas, locomotoras, pulmonares y metabólicas que los sujetos del grupo control. Los indicadores de alteraciones cardiológicas, locomotoras, entre otros, en veteranos han sido la edad, el tiempo pasado en combate y el daño allí sufrido. Un largo período en la zona de combate ha sido asociado con arritmias y otras complicaciones de tipo psiquiátrico. El TEPT, como resultado de la exposición a experiencias traumáticas del campo de batalla, incrementa la posibilidad de desarrollo de trastornos somáticos.