Traumatic stress is heartbreaking

摘要

There is growing recognition that the consequences of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on health may reach far beyond the neuropsychiatric sphere. For many years, studies have documented numerous physical health problems in PTSD (1), and a possible connection between PTSD and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) has received special attention. Despite this growing interest, evidence of a link between PTSD and CHD has remained elusive, mainly because of weaknesses in the existing literature. Until recently, much of the research in the area of PTSD and CHD has been hindered by methodologic limitations, including the use of cross-sectional designs, assessments of cardiac symptoms or diagnoses based on self-reports, or unvalidated administrative data. Research reports have often failed to adjust for potential confounding factors, such as smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression.