Women who suffer from a greater number of posttraumatic stress symptoms are twice as a risk of developing type II diabetes, according to a study by the Harvard Public Health School (USA).
To carry out the investigation, published in "Archives of General Psychiatry" and led by Andrea L. Roberts, the authors used the 'Nurses Health Study II' scale with the aim of examining the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and the incidence of diabetesType II in 49,239 women, during a monitoring period of 22 years.
Thus, during the study, 6.2% of the participants developed this disease, being women with symptoms of post -traumatic stress that had a higher incidence of type II diabetes.
more frequent
Specifically, 4.6 cases of type 2 diabetes were produced per 1,000 people a year in women with six or seven symptoms of post -traumatic stress;3.9 cases among women with four to five symptoms;3.7 cases among women with one to three symptoms;2.8 cases among women exposed to trauma, but without symptoms of this disorder;and 2.1 cases among women not exposed to trauma.
Likewise, the results have revealed that the use of antidepressants to treat this disorder and have a high body mass index is associated with a greater risk of type II diabetes.However, tobacco consumption, diet quality, alcohol intake and physical activity do not seem to explain the association.
mechanism to be determined
The study is based on the findings of Pevios Researchers, including a 2013 work, which found a link between this disorder and obesity.Other research has demonstrated a relationship between mental health problems such as anxiety, social phobia, and agoraphobia and type 2 diabetes.
More research is needed to identify biochemical and behavioral changes, such as sleep alteration, which mediate the relationship between PTSD and type 2 diabetes. For Roberts, women with post -traumatic stress disorder and health professionals must beaware that these women have a higher risk of diabetes.
