Abstract 13208: Pathways Linking Posttraumatic Stress Disorder to Ischemic Heart Disease in Women Veterans

Introduction: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased risk of ischemic heart disease (IHD). It is unclear if this excess risk is entirely mediated through traditional IHD risk factors (hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking). We examined 13 potential mediators of the PTSD-IHD association in a large cohort of women veterans: traditional risk factors, other conditions (obesity, chronic kidney disease, neuroendocrine disorders), women-specific risk factors (e.g., gestational diabetes and hypertension, pre-eclampsia), and psychiatric disorders (depression, anxiety, psychotic disorders, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence). Methods: The study cohort included women veterans ≥18 years of age who were enrolled in Veterans Health Administration care between 1/1/2000 to12/31/2017. Diagnosis of each risk factor and disorder was based on administrative billing codes (International Classification of Disease versions 9 and 10). The final study cohorts included 1:2 propensity-score matched group of patients with and without PTSD respectively. The cohorts were matched for age, number of prior visits, and presence of the above risk factors. Cox regression examined associations of PTSD with time to development of the above 13 risk factors. Cox regression with time-varying covariates was used to model time to development of IHD as a function of PTSD and each of above 13 risk factors as time-varying predictors in separate models. Results: The cohorts included 132,293 patients with, and 265,846 patients without PTSD. PTSD was positively associated with each of the 13 risk factors. Results are tabulated in the table below.Conclusion: Traditional risk factors cumulatively accounted for just one third of the risk of IHD posed by PTSD, and all examined risk factors accounted for less than half of the increased risk associated with PTSD. More research is needed to identify pathways by which PTSD accelerates cardiovascular risk.