batgirl
23-11-2007, 01:32 PM
Asthma Linked to PTSD
People who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be more likely to develop asthma, new research suggests.
Scientists at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health say that the link between PTSD and asthma cannot be explained by common genetic influences.
They studied 3,065 male twin pairs who had lived together in childhood and who had both served on active military duty during the Vietnam War.
Among all the twins, those who suffered from the most PTSD symptoms were 2.3 times as likely to have asthma compared with those who suffered from the least PTSD symptoms.
Both identical twins, who share the same genetic material, and fraternal twins, who share only half of the same genetic material, were included in the study.
"If there had been a strong genetic component to the link between asthma and PTSD, the results between these two types of twins would have been different, but we didn't find substantial differences between the two," said lead researcher Dr Renee Goodwin.
The increased risk of asthma was found to remain even when other risk factors were taken into account, including smoking, obesity and socioeconomic status.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also confirmed previous findings that linked asthma with a higher risk of depression.
Reasons for a link between between asthma and mental disorders are as-yet unknown by scientists.
"It is conceivable that traumatic stress, which has been associated with compromised immune functioning, leads to increased vulnerability to immune-system-related diseases, including asthma," the study's authors said.
"Alternatively, it may be that having asthma places adults at increased risk for PTSD as it increases the likelihood that they will be exposed to a traumatic situation because they have a life-threatening chronic medical condition."
Source: inthenews.co.uk
People who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be more likely to develop asthma, new research suggests.
Scientists at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health say that the link between PTSD and asthma cannot be explained by common genetic influences.
They studied 3,065 male twin pairs who had lived together in childhood and who had both served on active military duty during the Vietnam War.
Among all the twins, those who suffered from the most PTSD symptoms were 2.3 times as likely to have asthma compared with those who suffered from the least PTSD symptoms.
Both identical twins, who share the same genetic material, and fraternal twins, who share only half of the same genetic material, were included in the study.
"If there had been a strong genetic component to the link between asthma and PTSD, the results between these two types of twins would have been different, but we didn't find substantial differences between the two," said lead researcher Dr Renee Goodwin.
The increased risk of asthma was found to remain even when other risk factors were taken into account, including smoking, obesity and socioeconomic status.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, also confirmed previous findings that linked asthma with a higher risk of depression.
Reasons for a link between between asthma and mental disorders are as-yet unknown by scientists.
"It is conceivable that traumatic stress, which has been associated with compromised immune functioning, leads to increased vulnerability to immune-system-related diseases, including asthma," the study's authors said.
"Alternatively, it may be that having asthma places adults at increased risk for PTSD as it increases the likelihood that they will be exposed to a traumatic situation because they have a life-threatening chronic medical condition."
Source: inthenews.co.uk