Posttraumatic stress disorder and dyslipidemia: Previous research and novel findings from patients with PTSD caused by myocardial infarction

AbstractObjectives. Based on a brief systematic review suggesting dyslipidemia in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we studied, for the first time, levels of blood lipids in patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of PTSD caused by myocardial infarction (MI). Methods. Study participants were eight patients with full PTSD, eight patients with subsyndromal PTSD, and 31 patients with no PTSD who were diagnosed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) interview after a mean of 32±8 months after MI. Levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were determined in plasma. Results. Patients with full PTSD had lower HDL-C than patients with subsyndromal PTSD (P= 0.044) and those with no PTSD (P= 0.014) controlling for sex, body mass index, and statin equivalent dosage. Moreover, HDL-C levels were inversely associated with PTSD total symptoms (r = −0.33, P= 0.027), re-experiencing symptoms (r = −0.32, P= 0.036), and avoidanc...