engleski

Immunologic parameters in war veterans with combat related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

There is increasing evidence that individuals with PTSD are more likely to develop other psychiatric disorders and stress-related diseases. In concordance with these findings and other, suggesting that psychoimmunoendocrine functions in PTSD victims may be altered, we determined lymphocyte subpopulations and natural killer cells activity in Croatian war veterans with chronic combat-related PTSD ten years after the trauma. Immunological reactivity of outpatients with chronic PTSD (N=39) was compared with healthy counterparts (N=40), controlling for combat stress exposure and basic sociodemographic factors. Our findings suggest that alterations of neuroendocrine and immune systems in chronic combat-related PTSD are associated with level of combat exposure and current psychosocial status of war veterans.

NK activity; psychoneuroimmunology; PTSD; war stress

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