Posttraumatic stress disorder, trauma, and accelerated biological aging among post-9/11 veterans

Abstract People who experience trauma and develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for poor health. One mechanism that could explain this risk is accelerated biological aging, which is associated with the accumulation of chronic diseases, disability, and premature mortality. Using data from 2309 post-9/11 United States military veterans who participated in the VISN 6 MIRECC’s Post-Deployment Mental Health Study, we tested whether PTSD and trauma exposure were associated with accelerated rate of biological aging, assessed using a validated DNA methylation (DNAm) measure of epigenetic aging—DunedinPACE. Veterans with current PTSD were aging faster than those who did not have current PTSD, β = 0.18, 95% CI [0.11, 0.27], p