The connection between post-traumatic stress disorder and nutrition
A new analysis of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) finds statistical associations between many health factors and PTSD.
Based on the authors of the brand new study, which appears in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, the research does not establish that these elements actually trigger PTSD, and the invert may be true. Nevertheless, their identification may however inform further research.
In some instances, the authors posit that underlying physiological mechanisms could be at play.
Nutritional health and PTSD
The CLSA is a big, long-term study of the Canadian population that is ongoing for more than 20 years. The researchers behind the new study examined the info for 27,211 persons aged 45-85 years. Of these people, 1,323 got PTSD.
The study discovered that people who eat several sources of fiber each day are less inclined to experience episodes of PTSD than those eating less fiber.
Lead writer Karen Davison, director of the Nutrition Informatics Research Group and health science program faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia, suggests grounds because of this finding: “It's possible that optimal levels of dietary fiber involve some kind of mental health-related protective impact.”
Davison says that this may need to do with brief chain essential fatty acids (SCFAs), which originate found in the gut. “SCFA molecules can talk to cells and could affect mind function,” she explains.
The researchers also linked the consumption of various other foods to an increased incidence of PTSD. These food types included chocolate, pastries, nuts, and pulses.
Co-author Christina Hyland, a good doctoral student at the University of Toronto (U of T), telephone calls the finding unexpected.
She cautions, however, that the inclusion of nuts on the list may reflect the inclusion of peanut butter, however, not more healthful nut options, among the meals selections in the CLSA.
Poverty and PTSD
When they viewed nondietary elements, the researchers found a strong association around poverty and PTSD. Of the individuals with an annual household money below $20,000 Canadian, 1 in 7 experienced the disorder.
Senior author Prof. Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the Institute forever Course & Maturing and professor at the U of T, says that this is one of those links where the cause and impact are unclear.
“Unfortunately, we do not know whether PTSD symptoms undermined an individual’s capability to work, which resulted in poverty, or whether the stress connected with poverty exacerbated PTSD symptoms found in respondents,” Prof. Fuller-Thomson notes.
PTSD, women, and age
The results showed that 6.9% of women and 3.9% of men acquired PTSD, and therefore it affected women practically twice more frequently as men.
Among the ladies, 8.8% of these who were divorced or widowed possessed PTSD weighed against 4.4% of currently married women or women with a common-law partner.
The study’s analysis supports previous research showing that women and men are more likely to experience PTSD at times in their life.
Men are most likely to have PTSD in their early 40s, even while women most often experience it in their early 50s.
Chronic health issues and PTSD
The analysis revealed links between PTSD and both chronic pain and smoking. Meghan West, a expert of social work college student at the U of T, notes, “This is regular with results from additional analyses, which found increased hazards of cardiovascular, metabolic, and musculoskeletal conditions among people with PTSD.”
“These links may be because of alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), sympathetic nervous program inflammation, or wellbeing behaviors that improve the threat of poor physical wellbeing,” she adds.
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com
