Elderly men with PTSD at risk of Parkinson’s

A diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to carry an increased risk of developing subsequent Parkinson’s disease (PD) among elderly men, as reported in a study.

The study used data from Maccabi Health Care Services (MHS) in Israel. Researchers identified 8,336 MHS members born before 1970 who received a diagnosis of PTSD in 2000 to 2015. Incident PTSD was determined by having at least one diagnosis given by psychiatrists, psychologists, or neurologists; hospital discharge diagnosis; or registered as a chronic diagnosis (defined as such by the primary care physician).

PTSD patients were then matched to 8,336 patients without PTSD according to index date (defined as first diagnosis for the patients with PTSD). The mean age of the overall population at index date was 55.8 years, and 4,303 patients (51.6 percent) were male.

The researchers ascertained incident PD cases up to 2019 based on idiopathic PD diagnosis given by a neurologist, extracted from a hospital discharge report, or registered as a chronic diagnosis.

Multivariable analysis revealed that compared with non-PTSD controls, patients with PTSD had a 48-percent higher risk of PD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.48, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10–1.99). Of note, the risk increase nearly doubled among men who received a diagnosis of PTSD at age ≥72 years (HR, 1.95, 95 percent CI, 1.16–3.28).

Additional studies are needed to validate the present findings and to further assess the association of stress with PD risk.