ReviewThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry2015
Is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Premature Senescence? A Review of the Literature.
Review in The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder moderates the association between BrainAge acceleration and GrimAge acceleration.Neurobiology of aging · 2026Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Decision-Analytic Modelling Approaches in Economic Evaluations of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Treatments.PharmacoEconomics · 2026Pooled it
- Biomarkers associated with cognitive impairment in post-traumatic stress disorder: A systematic review of current evidence.Ageing research reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder as a predictor of mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Traumatic stress and accelerated DNA methylation age: A meta-analysis.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2018Pooled it
- Epigenetic aging and DNA methylation biomarker changes following ketamine treatment in patients with MDD and PTSD: a pilot study.Translational psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Yoga vs Cognitive Processing Therapy for Military Sexual Trauma-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- DNA methylation GrimAge acceleration in US military veterans with PTSD.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Investigating Causality Between Blood Metabolites and Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Traumatic Stress: a Mendelian Randomization Study.Molecular neurobiology · 2020Trial
- Accelerated brain aging in Veterans with posttraumatic stress symptoms and mild traumatic brain injury.Neuroimage. Reports · 2026Article
- The health and well-being of older Veterans in Canada: A scoping review.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2026Article
- Mental health care utilization following a new positive PTSD screen in primary care in the Veterans Health Administration.Psychological services · 2026Article
- The impact of trauma and how to intervene: a narrative review of psychotraumatology over the past 15 years.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- P2RX7 Dynamics in CNS Disorders: Molecular Insights and Therapeutic Perspectives.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Association of Psychological Resilience With Decelerated Brain Aging in Cognitively Healthy World Trade Center Responders.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2025Article
- Post-traumatic stress disorder in older adults: a global collaboration on setting the future research agenda.The lancet. Healthy longevity · 2025Review
- Interactive effects of post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity and hypertension on cognitive dispersion in older Vietnam-Era veterans with history of post-traumatic stress disorder.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2025Article
- Telomere Dynamics in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Critical Synthesis.Biomedicines · 2025Review
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has major public health significance. Evidence that PTSD may be associated with premature senescence (early or accelerated aging) would have major implications for quality of life and healthcare policy. We conducted a comprehensive review of published empirical studies relevant to early aging in PTSD.
methodOur search included the PubMed, PsycINFO, and PILOTS databases for empirical reports published since the year 2000 relevant to early senescence and PTSD, including: 1) biomarkers of senescence (leukocyte telomere length [LTL] and pro-inflammatory markers), 2) prevalence of senescence-associated medical conditions, and 3) mortality rates.
resultsAll six studies examining LTL indicated reduced LTL in PTSD (pooled Cohen's d = 0.76). We also found consistent evidence of increased pro-inflammatory markers in PTSD (mean Cohen's ds), including C-reactive protein = 0.18, Interleukin-1 beta = 0.44, Interleukin-6 = 0.78, and tumor necrosis factor alpha = 0.81. The majority of reviewed studies also indicated increased medical comorbidity among several targeted conditions known to be associated with normal aging, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, gastrointestinal ulcer disease, and dementia. We also found seven of 10 studies indicated PTSD to be associated with earlier mortality (average hazard ratio: 1.29).
conclusionIn short, evidence from multiple lines of investigation suggests that PTSD may be associated with a phenotype of accelerated senescence. Further research is critical to understand the nature of this association. There may be a need to re-conceptualize PTSD beyond the boundaries of mental illness, and instead as a full systemic disorder.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.