PTSD raises diabetes risk

Post-traumatic stress disorder could raise the risk of developing diabetes. Edward J. Boyko of the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System studied 44,754 service people enrolled in the Department of Defense's long-term Millennium Cohort Study. Three years later 376 of them reported that they had been newly diagnosed with diabetes. Those who developed diabetes were more likely to be overweight or obese, African-American or Asian, to have PTSD symptoms and to have left the military. After taking into account other factors, such as age, weight and race the risk of diabetes was found to be more than twice as high in the presence of PTSD symptoms. There was no increased risk for people with depression although this has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes in previous studies.

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http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64N4JK20100524?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews