Two new research papers shed light on the risk factors for developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The condition, which affects those who passed through unusually difficult situations or traumatic experiences, is difficult to treat, and can significantly diminish quality of life in sufferers.Military personnel is especially prone to developing the disorder, most often after returning home from the line of duty. As such, the military is very interested in finding a way to predict which soldiers will be affected by PTSD in the future.
Soon, recruitment officers might get the tools they need to figure this out. One of the two studies has just identified a set of genes that makes people more prone to developing the disorder, while the second investigation developed a tool for assessing the chance of developing PTSD after a traumatic event.
The first study was led by Geisinger Center for Health Research senior investigator Joseph Boscarino, PhD, MPH. He and his group found that certain genes make some people have a 700 percent larger risk of developing PTSD than their peers.
“We found that individuals with these ‘at risk’ genes were more likely to develop PTSD, especially when associated with a higher exposure to traumatic events or greater exposure to childhood adversity,” Boscarino explains.
“They say what doesn’t kill you makes only you stronger, but what we’ve found is that the opposite may actually be the case if you have the PTSD risk genes,” he adds, quoted by
PsychCentral.
His findings could be used to screen those who want to join the military, or who want to pursue a line of work in public services such as police work and firefighting.
The second study, also by Boscarino and his team, details the creation of a prediction tool, that clinicians can use to gage a patient's risk of developing the disorder following a traumatic event.
As part of this work, the experts assessed a large number of PTSD prediction models, keeping an eye out for factors such as stressor exposures, functional status, psychosocial resources, depression, suicidal thoughts, PTSD symptoms and demographics.
Some 2,300 American adults were used for this experiment. They were all analyzed shortly after the September 11, 2011 attacks that hit the United States, causing in excess of 3,000 victims.
“Until now there’s been no easy-to-use tool to help clinicians rapidly identify PTSD in patients in routine practice or after a traumatic event,” Boscarino says.
“We now have a 10-step process that can accurately and quickly identify PTSD cases from non-cases and facilitate the most appropriate therapy,” he concludes.
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