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NEW EVIDENCE SUPPORTS LINK BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA AND FUTURE HEART DISEASE | |
| Contact at the Academy: Kathryn Cervino, Associate Director of Communications Phone: 212.822.7285 Email: kcervino@nyam.org Embargoed until: March 5, 2004 |
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Orlando, FL - People who have experienced traumatic stress events are at greater risk of developing heart disease, according to new research presented at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting in Orlando. Dr. Joseph Boscarino, Senior Scientist at The New York Academy of Medicine, reviewed the evidence from 12 different studies involving over 50,000 persons who were exposed to traumatic events such as war, disasters, child abuse and sexual assault. The evidence overwhelmingly suggested a link between trauma and heart disease. To show that the heart disease was in fact strongly linked to psychological stress rather than other factors such as substance use or race, Boscarino examined the medical and mental health exam records of 2,490 Vietnam veterans who participated in a national study in 1986, about 17 years after serving in combat. Fifty-four of the men whose records were examined had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the study, Boscarino found. In addition, 30 men showed medical signs of having experienced a heart attack, based upon their electrocardiograms (ECGs). Their ECGs contained "Q-wave infarctions," which suggest that the person had previously suffered a heart attack. Dr. Boscarino then analyzed the association between PTSD and infarctions and found that veterans with PTSD had a six-times-higher rate for heart attack. Specifically, heart attacks were likely for about seven percent of veterans with PTSD but for only about one percent of veterans without PTSD. Boscarino's study controlled for IQ, lifestyle, personality, smoking, substance abuse, age, race, economic status and other factors. "Our study now provides fairly strong proof that psychological trauma can cause heart disease in some persons," said Boscarino, Ph.D., M.P.H., noting that heart attack rates were even higher for veterans suffering from depression or anxiety in addition to PTSD. "This doesn't mean everyone exposed to trauma will get heart disease, but that they may be at risk." On the positive side, this also study suggests that effectively treating PTSD may not only improve the victim's quality of life but may also prevent future heart disease, said Boscarino, who is a Vietnam combat veteran. "As this nation's latest war veterans returns home, we need to do a better job of educating people about these consequences," he said. | |
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Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
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