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Large decrease in posttraumatic stress disorder severity and cardiovascular disease outcomes

delete2025-07-01
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PRE
AI
J
Joanne Salas
P
Poorva Sheth
B
Beth E. Cohen
K
Kenneth E. Freedland
A
Allan S. Jaffe
P
Paula P. Schnurr
M
Matthew J. Friedman
P
Patrick J. Lustman
J
Jeffrey F. Scherrer *
DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.04.011delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Improved physical health often follows large decreases in PTSD severity, but it is not known if better CVD outcomes follow PTSD improvement in patients with comorbid PTSD and CVD. Methods: De-identified medical record data between 2011 and 2022 was used to create a cohort of 7120 Veterans Health Administration patients with PTSD and comorbid CVD. The exposure was clinically meaningful PTSD improvement defined as >= 20-point PTSD Checklist (PCL) decrease. Entropy balance controlled for confounding. Cox proportional hazard models estimated the association between clinically meaningful PCL decrease and CVD outcomes: myocardial infarction or revascularization procedure, all-cause mortality, and stroke. Results: About half (52.2 %) of the sample was 65-80 years of age, 95.5 % were male, 17.3 % identified as Black and 79.2 % as White race. Clinically meaningful PTSD improvement occurred for 20.4 % of patients. After controlling for confounding, those with vs. without clinically meaningful PTSD improvement did not significantly differ on risk for myocardial infarction or revascularization procedure (HR = 1.07; 95 %CI:0.94-1.20), all-cause mortality (HR = 1.02; 95 %CI:0.89-1.17), and stroke (HR = 1.10; 95 %CI:0.96-1.26). Neither race, age nor depression significantly modified the association of PTSD improvement and risk for adverse CVD outcomes. Conclusions: In this sample of veterans, large reductions in PTSD severity were not associated with better or worse CVD outcomes. Research is needed to determine if clinically meaningful PTSD improvement and the lack of association with CVD outcomes is seen in other populations of patients with comorbid PTSD and CVD.
Keywords:
Psychiatry
Epidemiology
Cardiovascular disease
Veterans

Journal

General Hospital Psychiatry cover
General Hospital Psychiatry
IF:
3.7
Papers:
4.4K
Citations:
7.3K

Organization

G
Geisel Sch Med Dartmouth
Scholars:
144
Papers: 69
Citations: 21
N
natl ctr ptsd
Scholars:
18
Papers: 11
Citations: 2
W
Washington Univ
Scholars:
2.4K
Papers: 1.3K
Citations: 439
M
Mayo Clinic
Scholars:
2.0K
Papers: 533
Citations: 0
S
St Louis Univ
Scholars:
325
Papers: 193
Citations: 42
S
San Francisco VA Healthcare Syst
Scholars:
10
Papers: 7
Citations: 0
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Cited Papers

Cited Papers

Association Between Clinically Meaningful Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Improvement and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
err2019-11-01
err0
errOAAI
errJeffrey F. Scherrer; Joanne Salas; Sonya B. Norman; Paula P. Schnurr; Kathleen M. Chard; Peter Tuerk; F. David Schneider; Carissa van den Berk-Clark; Beth E. Cohen; Matthew J. Friedman; Patrick J. Lustman
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PTSD symptom decrease and use of weight loss programs
err2019-12-01
err7
errOAAI
errScherrer, Jeffrey F.; Salas, Joanne; Chard, Kathleen M.; Tuerk, Peter; van den Berk-Clark, Carissa; Schneider, F. David; Cohen, Beth E.; Lustman, Patrick J.; Schnurr, Paula P.; Friedman, Matthew J.; Norman, Sonya B.
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Non-fatal cardiovascular outcome in patients with posttraumatic stress symptoms caused by myocardial infarction
err2011-07-01
err0
errOAAI
errRoland von Känel; Roman Hari; Jean Paul Schmid; Lina Wiedemar; Erika Guler; Jürgen Barth; Hugo Saner; Ulrich Schnyder; Stefan Begré
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Comorbid Conditions Explain the Association Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Incident Cardiovascular Disease
err2019-02-19
err42
errOAAI
errScherrer, Jeffrey F.; Salas, Joanne; Cohen, Beth E.; Schnurr, Paula P.; Schneider, F. David; Chard, Kathleen M.; Tuerk, Peter; Friedman, Matthew J.; Norman, Sonya B.; van den Berk-Clark, Carissa; Lustman, Patrick J.
errShare
errSave
PTSD improvement and substance use disorder treatment utilization in veterans: Evidence from medical record data
err2021-01-01
err5
errOAAI
errSalas, Joanne; Norman, Sonya B.; Tuerk, Peter W.; van den Berk-Clark, Carissa; Cohen, Beth E.; Schneider, F. David; Chard, Kathleen M.; Lustman, Patrick J.; Schnurr, Paula P.; Friedman, Matthew J.; Grucza, Richard; Scherrer, Jeffrey F.
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Changes in reported physical health symptoms and social function with prolonged exposure therapy for chronic posttraumatic stress disorder
err2009-08-01
err0
errOAAI
errSheila A.M. Rauch; Tania E.E. Grunfeld; Elna Yadin; Shawn P. Cahill; Elizabeth Hembree; Edna B. Foa
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