Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Onset and Longitudinal Change in Biological Aging

People with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for poor health, which could be explained by faster rates of biological aging. However, associations between PTSD and aging have most often been investigated using cross-sectional designs, with few longitudinal studies using more recently developed epigenetic measures of aging. To test whether changes in PTSD status were associated with changes in biological aging over roughly 12 years, we used data from 400 veterans assessed at two visits in the Post-Deployment Mental Health Study. Biological aging was assessed by DunedinPACE, with additional results shown for PC-GrimAge and PC-PhenoAge. Between two occasions spanning an average of 11.9 years, veterans who developed new onset PTSD showed significant increases in DunedinPACE ({beta} = 0.24, 95% CI [0.07, 0.41], p = .006), whereas remission in PTSD between occasions was not associated with significant decreases in the rate of aging ({beta} = -0.13, 95% CI [-0.33, 0.08], p = .207). When assessing PTSD symptoms, increases in PTSD symptoms between baseline and follow-up were associated with increases in DunedinPACE over the same period ({beta} = 0.07, 95% CI [0.01, 0.14], p = .032), and vice versa. Estimates for PC-GrimAge largely replicated those for DunedinPACE, whereas PC-PhenoAge replicated some associations. ConclusionsThese results suggest that changes in PTSD are associated with longitudinal changes in biological aging. Efforts to prevent the onset of PTSD and reduce PTSD symptoms could slow aging and reduce risk for poor health.