Combat PTSD and Comorbid Major Depression in US Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan: The Role of Deployment Cycle Adversity and Social Support
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) commonly co-occur among combat veterans (Stander, Thomsen, & Highfill-McRoy, 2014). This comorbidity is associated with greater distress and higher social and economic costs (Kramer, Booth, Han, & Williams, 2005). In the population of combat veterans, who have deployed to areas of military conflict under adverse circumstances, it is critical to understand the potential role of peripheral adverse social and interpersonal events that may increase risk for developing comorbid depression.
Developing a gene-based meta-analytic approach to summarize existing candidate gene literature of HPA-axis gene variants and PTSD risk
An area of significant research focus has been on identifying factors that may distinguish between individuals who do and do not develop PTSD, including pre-trauma biological vulnerability. Not surprisingly, given the role of the stress response in posttrauma responding, many studies have examined individual differences in modulators of our response to stress, particularly the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Does Depression Symptom Severity Influence Response to PTSD Treatment among Older Male Veterans?
As it has become widely known,
PTSD and depression often go hand-in-hand among civilians and Service members alike, but particularly so among veterans. Specifically, there is an estimated comorbidity rate of 50% between PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD) among civilians (Rytwinski, Scur, Feeny, & Youngstrom, 2013) and Active Duty Service Members (Walter, Levine, Highfill-McRoy, Navarro, & Thomsen, 2018), with slightly higher rates among veterans (Rytwinski et al., 2013).
Effects of Narrative Exposure Therapy on PTSD, depression, and insomnia: A study with traumatized North Korean refugee youth
North Korean refugee youth typically have been exposed to multiple traumatic experiences in their home country and during their flight (Park et al., 2019a). Consequently, they have high rates of trauma-related mental disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Therefore, treating PTSD and depression of North Korean refugee youth may be important to reduce dysfunctional sleep patterns and insomnia.