Posttraumatic stress disorder and incident heart failure among a community-based sample of US veterans

S.S. Roy, R.E. Foraker, R.A. Girton and A.J. Mansfield

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, issue 4, 757-763

Abstract: Objectives. We investigated the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and incident heart failure in a community-based sample of veterans. Methods. We examined Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System outpatient medical records for 8248 veterans between 2005 and 2012. We used multivariable Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the development of heart failure by PTSD status. Results. Over a mean follow-up of 7.2 years, veterans with PTSD were at increased risk for developing heart failure (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.13, 1.92) compared with veterans without PTSD after adjustment for age, gender, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, body mass index, combat service, and military service period. Additional predictors for heart failure included age (HR = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.03, 1.07), diabetes (HR = 2.54; 95% CI = 2.02, 3.20), hypertension (HR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.42, 2.46), overweight (HR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.25, 2.36), obesity (HR = 3.43; 95% CI = 2.50, 4.70), and combat service (HR = 4.99; 95% CI = 1.29, 19.38). Conclusions. Ours is the first large-scale longitudinal study to report an association between PTSD and incident heart failure in an outpatient sample of US veterans. Prevention and treatment efforts for heart failure and its associated risk factors should be expanded among US veterans with PTSD. © 2015, American Public Health Association Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: age; aged; ancestry group; comorbidity; female; heart failure; human; longitudinal study; male; middle aged; Pacific islands; risk factor; sex difference; statistics and numerical data; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; time; United States; very elderly; veteran, Age Factors; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Comorbidity; Continental Population Groups; Female; Heart Failure; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Middle Aged; Pacific Islands; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Time Factors; United States; Veterans (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2014.302342_4

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302342

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