ArticlePsychosomatic medicine
Grapheme-color synesthesia and posttraumatic stress disorder: preliminary results from the veterans health study.
Article in Psychosomatic medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic and environmental contributions to the link between synaesthesia and neurodevelopmental and psychiatric features: a twin study.Translational psychiatry · 2025Article
- Language evolution: examining the link between cross-modality and aggression through the lens of disorders.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Synaesthesia: a distinct entity that is an emergent feature of adaptive neurocognitive differences.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Grapheme-Color Synesthesia is Associated with PTSD Among Deployed Veterans: Confirmation of Previous Findings and Need for Additional Research.International journal of emergency mental health · 2019Article
- Social Support, Help-Seeking, and Mental Health Outcomes Among Veterans in Non-VA Facilities: Results from the Veterans' Health Study.Military behavioral health · 2017Article
- Attitudes about Future Genetic Testing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction among Community-Based Veterans.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2017Article
- Mental Health Disorders and Treatment Seeking Among Veterans in Non-VA Facilities: Results and Implications from the Veterans' Health Study.Military behavioral healthArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered neuropsychological function, possibly including complex visual information processing. Grapheme-color synesthesia refers to the phenomenon that a particular letter or number elicits the visual perception of a specific color. The study objective was to assess if grapheme-color synesthesia was associated with PTSD among US veterans.
methodWe surveyed 700 veterans who were outpatients in a multihospital system in Pennsylvania. All veterans had served at least one warzone deployment. PTSD and grapheme-color synesthesia were assessed using validated research instruments.
resultsThe mean age of veterans was 59 years, and 96% were men. The prevalence of current PTSD was 7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.1-8.8), and current partial PTSD was 11% (95% CI = 9.3-14.0). The prevalence of current depression was 6% (95% CI = 4.7-8.3). Altogether, 6% (95% CI = 4.8-8.5) of veterans screened positive for grapheme-color synesthesia. Bivariate analyses suggested that grapheme-color synesthesia was associated with current PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, p = .004) and current partial PTSD (OR = 2.4, p = .013), but not current depression (OR = 1.1, p = .91). Multivariate logistic regression results, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, level of education, current psychotropic medication use, and concussion history, confirmed these results.
conclusionsGrapheme-color synesthesia seems to be associated with PTSD among veterans who had been deployed. This finding may have implications for PTSD diagnostic screening and treatment. Research is recommended to confirm this finding and to determine if synesthesia is a risk indicator for PTSD among nonveterans.
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