News Release

Does post-traumatic stress disorder increase the risk of metabolic syndrome?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

<I>Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders</I>

image: Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders is the only peer-reviewed journal to focus solely on the pathophysiology, recognition, and treatment of metabolic syndrome. view more 

Credit: ©2013 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, October 1, 2013—People suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face a greater risk of cardiovascular disease and death. A new study involving a comprehensive review of the medical literature shows that PTSD also increases an individual's risk of metabolic syndrome. What links these two disorders is not clear, according to a study published in Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders website at http://www.liebertpub.com/met.

Francesco Bartoli and coauthors from University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, University College London, UK, and San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy, conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis and, based on their findings, propose that the increased risk of metabolic syndrome may result from neurological and hormonal responses to chronic stress. Their study is entitled "Metabolic Syndrome in People Suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis."

In an accompanying Editorial, "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Metabolic Syndrome: More Questions than Answers," authors Dawn Schwenke, PhD, VA Health Care System and Arizona State University, Phoenix, and David Siegel, MD, Northern California Health Care System (Mather) and University of California, Davis, suggest that more research is needed to determine whether the relationship between PTSD and metabolic syndrome is independent of other factors such as socioeconomic status, diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and insomnia.

"While Bartoli and colleagues conclude from their meta-analysis that PTSD confers a greater risk for metabolic syndrome, Schwenke and Siegel in their editorial suggest caution, explaining that it is not a simple relationship and many confounding factors could explain this," says Ishwarlal (Kenny) Jialal, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and Distinguished Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism), Robert E. Stowell Endowed Chair in Experimental Pathology, Director of the Laboratory for Atherosclerosis and Metabolic Research, Director Special Chemistry and Toxicology, Davis Medical Center (Sacramento). "In agreement with the latter, I believe this is a fertile area for further investigation before any definite conclusions can be drawn."

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About the Journal

Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders is the only peer-reviewed journal to focus solely on the pathophysiology, recognition, and treatment of metabolic syndrome. The Journal covers a range of topics including insulin resistance, central obesity, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia with elevated triglycerides, predominance of small dense LDL-cholesterol particles, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress and inflammation. In 2014, the Journal will be published 10 times per year. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders website at http://www.liebertpub.com/met.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Childhood Obesity, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Thyroid. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 http://www.liebertpub.com
Phone (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax (914) 740-2101


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