Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Jan;28(1):125-30.
doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.28.1.125.

A prospective study of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and coronary heart disease in women

Laura D Kubzansky  1 , Karestan C Koenen, Cynthia Jones, William W Eaton
Affiliations

A prospective study of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and coronary heart disease in women

Laura D Kubzansky et al. Health Psychol. 2009 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reflects a prolonged stress reaction and dysregulation of the stress response system and is hypothesized to increase risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD). No study has tested this hypothesis in women even though PTSD is more prevalent among women than men. This study aims to examine whether higher levels of PTSD symptoms are associated with increased risk of incident CHD among women.

Design: A prospective study using data from women participating in the Baltimore cohort of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study (n = 1059). Past year trauma and associated PTSD symptoms were assessed using the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule.

Main outcome measures: Incident CHD occurring during the 14-year follow-up through 1996.

Results: Women with five or more symptoms were at over three times the risk of incident CHD compared with those with no symptoms (age-adjusted OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.29-7.98). Findings were maintained after controlling for standard coronary risk factors as well as depression or trait anxiety.

Conclusion: PTSD symptoms may have damaging effects on physical health for civilian community-dwelling women, with high levels of PTSD symptoms associated with increased risk of CHD-related morbidity and mortality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Badawi MA, Eaton WW, Myllyluoma J, Weimer LG, Gallo J. Psychopathology and attrition in the Baltimore ECA 15-year follow-up 1981–1996. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 1999;34:91–98. - PubMed
    1. Breslau N, Davis GC, Schultz LR. Posttraumatic stress disorder and the incidence of nicotine, alcohol, and other drug disorders in persons who have experienced trauma. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2003;60:289–294. - PubMed
    1. Cohen H, Benjamin J, Geva AB, Matar MA, Kaplan Z, Kotler M. Autonomic dysregulation in panic disorder and in post-traumatic stress disorder: Application of power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability at rest and in response to recollection of trauma or panic attacks. Psychiatry Research. 2000;96:1–13. - PubMed
    1. de Waal MW, Arnold IA, Spinhoven P, Eekhof JA, van Hemert AM. The reporting of specific physical symptoms for mental distress in general practice. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2005;59:89–95. - PubMed
    1. Dong M, Giles WH, Felitti VG, Dube SR, Williams JE, Chapman DP, et al. Insights into causal pathways for ischemic heart disease: Adverse childhood experiences study. Circulation. 2004;110:1761–1766. - PubMed

Publication types