142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Effect of PTSD on Obesity in Younger versus Older Veterans: Findings from the Mind Your Heart Study

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Anna Tyzik, BS , National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA
Brian Smith, Ph.D. , National Center for PTSD, Womens Health Sciences Division, VA Boston Healthcare System & Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Thomas Neylan, MD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco & San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Beth Cohen, MD, MAS , Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco & San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is increasingly recognized as a relatively common condition that is associated with poor health, including obesity, a significant cause of death and chronic disease development. With a sizable proportion of the population approaching older adulthood, it is important to understand PTSD–health associations in the context of age. The present study examined associations between PTSD and overweight/obesity in younger and older veterans from the Mind Your Heart Study.

Methods: Participants were recruited from two Bay Area Veterans Administration medical centers and included 380 patients age 60 and over and 365 under age 60. Current PTSD diagnosis was determined by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale. BMI was calculated using height and weight measurements conducted by trained study staff, and was polychotomized into normal/under (<.24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9), and obese (>30.0). Models were stratified by age group and controlled for gender, ethnicity, depression diagnosis, and antipsychotic medication use.

Results: Thirty-four percent of adults age 60 and over and 29% under age 60 met diagnostic criteria for current PTSD. For the under age 60 group, PTSD was not significantly associated with overweight [odds ratio (OR) = 1.0, 95% confidence interval (CI):0.5, 2.0] or obesity [OR = 1.0, CI: 0.5, 2.0]. In the 60 and over group, PTSD was significantly associated with overweight [OR = 3.1, CI: 1.4, 6.9] and obesity [OR = 3.7, CI: 1.7, 8.3].

Conclusions: Results suggest that PTSD is associated with risk for overweight and obesity, an effect that may be particularly strong in older adults.

Learning Areas:

Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the association between PTSD and obesity in veterans. Compare rates of PTSD in older versus younger veterans. Differentiate risk for overweight and obesity associated with PTSD in older versus younger adults.

Keyword(s): Obesity, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For the past several years I have been working on studies examining various neurobiological associations with PTSD. For the present work, I have been working directly with the principal and co-principal investigators of the "Mind your Heart Study," a prospective study of veterans with and without PTSD. Among my scientific interests have been how mental health influences the risk of poor overall health, as well as examining the role of age in health risks.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3206.0: Research Perspectives on Mental Health and Mental Illness: POSTER 1