About Us Portfolio Press Careers Sitemap Advertise Contact Us Make this your Homepage

Custom Search

Register

Sign In

Sign In Using Facebook

Home » Research News

Asthma Linked To Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

November 22, 2007 at 8:13 PM Research News

For the first time, a link has been established between asthma with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults. The participants in the study, conducted by the researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, were all male twins and veterans of Vietnam. The results showed that the link could not be explained by genetics.

Related Links

There were 3,065 pairs of twins all of whom had lived together while growing up and both of whom had been on active duty during the Vietnam War. The results showed that those who suffered from the most symptoms of PTSD had a 2.3 times higher chance to have asthma as those who had fewer symptoms.

The twins were both identical - twins that have all the same genetic material- and fraternal - twins that have just half the same. If the connection was genetic, then the results between the two types of twins would have been very different, but there was no marked difference from one group or the other. The association was there even when they adjusted for variables such as smoking, obesity and socioeconomic status, which are all associated with both conditions.

"If there had been a strong genetic component to the link between asthma and PTSD, the results between these two types of twins would have been different, but we didn't find substantial differences between the two," said lead researcher Renee D. Goodwin, PhD, assistant professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Page 1

Page 1 | 2

Next

Rogue Bacteria Causes Both Heart Disease and Miscarriage

Indian Government Exempts Anti-cancer Drugs from Taxes, Excise Duty

More News on: Asthma, Stress Relief Through Alternative Medicine, Stress and the Gender Divide, Heart Attack- Lifestyle Risks, Is Your Man Moody?, Tired All The Time, Life Stressors, Headache / Cephalgia, Remedies for Seasonal Allergy Relief, Women More Prone to Road Rage

Comment & Contribute

Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters
	Notify me when reply is posted I agree to the terms and conditions
Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished. Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

therapistP(Guest)

12/09/2009

Many PTSD suffers experience panic disorder or other respiratory altering anxiety conditions. I have encountered several cases people suffering from PTSD being diagnosed with asthma by their general practitioner based on their report of tight chest etc when in fact asthma is not present. Even where a bronchodilator is effective it is not always clear whether it was bronchial dilation fixing the problem or simply that the inhaler reassured them and hence reduced their anxiety. Another explanation, along similar lines, is that those with respiratory anxiety symptoms (common in PTSD) are more likely to focus on breathing and hence have genuine asthma diagnosed, while many cases in the general population remain undiagnosed. I believe there could be a number of explanations for the association that are not necccessarily. I would be interested to know if the study ruled these out?
Therapist P
P.S. I should state that I am not ruling out a causal role and would not be surprised if it were oresent

Reply | Forward

Medwonders Health Network

Support Groups Members Discussions

Total Members - 54992
Support Groups - 445

Health News Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Latest News Most Popular Most Commented

Organ Damage in Inflammatory Genetic Disorder Arrested by Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug

Kids' Gadget Perplex 1 In 6 Parents

Immune System Regulation Directly Affected If Raised on a Farm

Shortly, Memory- Impaired Patients to Get Smartphone 'Prescription'

Sporting Activity in Excess Could Mar Long-Term Success of Hip Resurfacing

News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :

News Quick Links

	News Central			Health Watch
	Latest Health News			Health In Focus
	News Category (500+)			Breaking Health News
	Popular News			Celebrating Life
	Health News and Press Release			Medindia - Exclusive
	News Photo Gallery			India Special
	News Video Gallery			Lifestyle and Wellness
	News From Other Resources

Asthma

Complete Medindia Resources

News Categories:


»	Excessive Consumption of Phosphate Pose Risk To Health

»	Trauma Patients Have High Risk of Vitamin D Deficiency

»	Bread and Dinner Rolls Have High Salt Levels: CDC

»	Latest Weight Loss Tip

»	Diabetes Diagnosis Triggers Unhealthy Diet Promotion Charge on US Celebrity Chef
More Diet News

Research Related News
»	Organ Damage in Inflammatory Genetic Disorder Arrested by Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug	»	Immune System Regulation Directly Affected If Raised on a Farm
»	Shortly, Memory- Impaired Patients to Get Smartphone 'Prescription'	»	Sporting Activity in Excess Could Mar Long-Term Success of Hip Resurfacing
»	Spread of Clostridium Difficile in Hospitals Probably Not by Contact With Infected Patients	»	Study Finds Cognitive Performance Decline After Natural Disasters
»	Study Provides Evidence of Malaria's Impact on Fetal Growth	»	Research Sheds Light on Usefulness of Bubble-Propelled Microrockets

Read More >>

Accident and Trauma Care Support Group	Acupuncture Support Group	Albinism / Hypopigmentation / Albinos Support Group
Alcohol abuse / Alcohol dependence / Alcoholism Support Group	Andropause / Male Menopause Support Group	Aromatherapy Support Group
Asthma Support Group	Avian Influenza / Bird Flu Support Group	Ayurveda Support Group

Asthma Linked To Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Medwonders Health Network

Research Related News

Consumers

Medical Professionals

Medical Students

Directories