A stressful experience could make you age faster, according to scientists including one of Indian-origin who found that post-traumatic stress disorder can cause biological damage.
Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggest that people with PTSD may also be at risk for accelerated ageing or premature senescence.
"This is the first study of its type to link PTSD, a psychological disorder with no established genetic basis, which is caused by external, traumatic stress, with long-term, systemic effects on a basic biological process such as ageing," said Dilip V Jeste, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, who is the senior author of the study.
Researchers had previously noted a potential association between psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and acceleration of the ageing process.
Jeste and colleagues wanted to see if PTSD might show a similar association by conducting a comprehensive review of published empirical studies relevant to early ageing in PTSD, covering multiple databases going back to 2000.
In their literature review, the team identified 64 relevant studies; 22 were suitable for calculating overall effect sizes for biomarkers, 10 for mortality.
All six studies looking specifically at leukocyte telomere length (LTL) found reduced telomere length in persons with PTSD.
Telomeres are stretches of protective, repetitive nucleotide sequences at the ends of chromosomes. These sequences shorten with every cell replication and are considered a strong measure of the ageing process in cells.
The scientists also found consistent evidence of increased pro-inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and tumour necrosis factor alpha, associated with PTSD.
A majority of reviewed studies found increased medical comorbidity of PTSD with several targeted conditions associated with normal ageing, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, gastrointestinal ulcer disease and dementia.
Seven of 10 studies indicated a mild-to-moderate association of PTSD with earlier mortality, consistent with an early onset or acceleration of ageing in PTSD.
"These findings do not speak to whether accelerated ageing is specific to PTSD, but they do argue the need to re-conceptualise PTSD as something more than a mental illness," said first author James B Lohr, professor of psychiatry.
The research was published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
