Open AccessPosttraumatic Stress Disorder and Not Depression Is Associated with Shorter Leukocyte Telomere Length: Findings from 3,000 Participants in the Population-Based KORA F4 Study
Author(s) -
KarlHeinz Ladwig,
Anne Catharina Brockhaus,
Jens Baumert,
Karoline Lukaschek,
Rebecca T. Emeny,
Johannes Kruse,
Veryan Codd,
S. Häfner,
Eva Albrecht,
Thomas Illig,
Nilesh J. Samani,
HErich Wichmann,
Christian Gieger,
Annette Peters
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0064762
Subject(s) - telomere , depression (economics) , posttraumatic stress , stress (linguistics) , population , cellular aging , medicine , clinical psychology , psychology , genetics , biology , dna , environmental health , macroeconomics , economics , linguistics , philosophy
Background A link between severe mental stress and shorter telomere length (TL) has been suggested. We analysed the impact of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on TL in the general population and postulated a dose-dependent TL association in subjects suffering from partial PTSD compared to full PTSD. Methods Data are derived from the population-based KORA F4 study (2006–2008), located in southern Germany including 3,000 individuals (1,449 men and 1,551 women) with valid and complete TL data. Leukocyte TL was measured using a quantitative PCR-based technique. PTSD was assessed in a structured interview and by applying the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Impact of Event Scale (IES). A total of 262 (8.7%) subjects qualified for having partial PTSD and 51 (1.7%) for full PTSD. To assess the association of PTSD with the average TL, linear regression analyses with adjustments for potential confounding factors were performed. Results The multiple model revealed a significant association between partial PTSD and TL (beta = −0.051, p = 0.009) as well as between full PTSD and shorter TL (beta = −0.103, p = 0.014) indicating shorter TL on average for partial and full PTSD. An additional adjustment for depression and depressed mood/exhaustion gave comparable beta estimations. Conclusions Participants with partial and full PTSD had significantly shorter leukocyte TL than participants without PTSD. The dose-dependent variation in TL of subjects with partial and full PTSD exceeded the chronological age effect, and was equivalent to an estimated 5 years in partial and 10 years in full PTSD of premature aging.