PTSD and Early Mortality.

PTSD may damage blood vessels, increase risk of dying early.
CNN /Health.com (11/18, Harding) reports that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) "may damage blood vessels and increase the risk of dying early, according to new research presented...at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association." The research "included about 286,000 mostly male veterans between the ages of 45 and 81 who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and conflicts dating back to the Korean War." Investigators found that "the vets with PTSD -- who accounted for roughly 10 percent of the study participants -- had more than double the risk of dying during the 10-year study compared to their peers who didn't have disorder."
HealthDay (11/17, Gardner) reported that approximately "three-quarters of those diagnosed with PTSD had some calcium build-up, versus 59 percent of the veterans without the disorder. As a group, the veterans with PTSD had more severe disease of their arteries, with an average coronary artery calcification score of 448, compared to a score of 332 in the veterans without PTSD -- a significantly higher reading."