Two studies of veterans link PTSD to accelerated aging

CPT (Join to see) Great points - those all have a negative affect on all individuals without PTSD.

Bear in mind there is a significant difference when speaking clinically between "rapid onset aging" vs "unhealthy lifestyle." While both of these may have similar traits if you aren't looking for them, there are actually quite significant differences, which are easier to distinguish as one issue or another. Mind you, aging, in a normal capacity would not be a health "problem" and thus what must be considered are the patients health history, including labs and scans and you name it, as well as photos and hereditary comparisons. Those with an unhealthy lifestyle, which may have resulted as a secondary event, from an initial onset of depression or any other variance of mental health illnesses, will typically present with a more obvious change in habits, rather than physical deterioration. As most will initially read the title of this article, our first thought is appearances, as they point the gray hair phenomenon; but their study assuredly has went much deeper than simply wrinkles, hair loss or turning gray, and the infamous sagging. We presume that by the description of the title, that such a diagnosis would be easily evident, but that may be dependent on the magnitude of the trauma impact, not the trauma itself, but the impact depth within ones own mental state, the length of time, did it reoccur, were there other traumatic events, and so on and so forth. Next, to make such a diagnosis there would be comparison medical evaluations, which would show a decline in health in which there appears to be relatively no logical reasoning to have been facing at this point. For instance, dementia, or other mental health issues which, at a younger age, are relatively inexistent, so the question then must be asked, how extensively does the re-wiring of the brain affect the rest of the body transferring from the neurological to the physiological and ultimately the physical? Is there enough reason to suggest that such a trauma would offset the brains naturally occuring functions to one of a survival mode? While things on the outside of the person may not seem so damaged, until the brain is able to process through that piece of time from the event, it's like a misfire, but the problem is the individual has no control of when the brain will attempt again to reconnect its wires, so to speak. Thus, it may be possible when the brain is faced with PTSD, there may be a level of overcompensating effort made to fix itself, to take from what the rest of the body needs to function in a healthy manner. Not that the brain is anything like a separate being, but consider the brain to be the other source of life; we all know you gotta have the heart pumping the blood, but we also know the brain must be alive... Or like a coma.. What happens? For instance a coma from a head injury, the body may, or may not be able to sustain itself, while only laying there, appearing to be asleep; what if PTSD has a similar effect but on another part of the brain, however unlike in a coma, where there is other supportive medical options to assist and sustain, with PTSD, there may very well be a similar effect from a different region of the brain, however because most are able to survive day to day on their own, there may be a greater need to have some treatment method that provides a means to sustainment, in order to minimize these exceedingly rapid rates of aging inside and out. There are times that an individual may not need to be in a coma, but the prognosis may be improved, should that supportive care be performed; perhaps, the same applies for those with PTSD, case by case of course.---and no, I am not suggesting a coma, but I am suggesting there may be something necessary to improve the longevity and ultimate prognosis for wellness. Finally, I don't doubt that the variables are being taken into consideration and offset, and tested until proven not a significant reason for the aging issues, but I venture to wonder the extent of the endless number of medication combinations, longevity, doses, and number of other medical problems, not directly related to the PTSD... This is a great step forward, and I believe it is one of the few medical areas which are truly being investigated and studied with the purpose of affording legitimate help. Great article. I look forward to seeing what the PTSD studies reveal in the days to come.