Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have higher odds for early death from multiple causes like suicide, accidents, viral hepatitis, and diabetes, finds a new study.

‘Preventive interventions that target PTSD and lifestyle modifications may reduce the risk of depression and other disease conditions.’
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This is the first study to investigate specific causes of death by age group among all-era, treatment-seeking Veterans with PTSD and compare death rates to the US general population. Read More..





Veterans with PTSD had a significant increase in all-cause mortality in the year following initiation of treatment; 1.1 percent of them died, which is a 5 percent higher incidence than in the general population. Veterans with PTSD had a twofold increase in death from suicide, accidental injury, and viral hepatitis compared with the US population. Death from diabetes and chronic liver disease were also significantly higher for Veterans with PTSD.
During the first year of VA PTSD treatment, younger Veterans with PTSD were more likely to die from suicide and accidental injury, whereas middle-aged and older Veterans were more likely to die from heart disease and malignant neoplasms. Among individuals dying from accidental injury, more than half died of poisoning, which could include some misclassified suicides.
This retrospective cohort study identified the leading causes of death among 491,040 Veterans who initiated PTSD treatment at any Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center from 2008 to 2013; 5,215 of them died within the first year of care. The mean age was 48.5 years, 90.7 percent were male, 63.5 percent were of the white race, and 34.9 percent served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Causes of death during the first year of treatment were grouped according to age (18-34, 35-64, and 65 or older). To statistically compare the observed mortality among Veterans in PTSD treatment with the general population, standardized mortality ratios were calculated from age- and sex-matched mortality tables of the 2014 US population.
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"Future studies should develop preventive interventions that target PTSD and comorbid depression, pain disorder, and substance use to lessen the risk of suicide, accidental poisoning, and viral hepatitis in Veterans with PTSD. Similarly, lifestyle modifications may reduce the risk of diabetes and chronic liver disease in this patient population. Veterans seeking treatment for PTSD should receive comprehensive education on the benefits of diet and exercise and the risks of chronic stress and substance use," commented Dr. Forehand.
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