POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER, METABOLIC SYNDROME, AND CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION: A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Researchers have recently focused on investigating the link between metabolic diseases and mental disorders, specifically post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which could contribute to the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). MetS and PTSD are often comorbid conditions and share neurobiological and clinical features. Patients with PTSD have a higher prevalence of MetS compared to the general population. At the same time, PTSD is a known risk factor for the development of MetS. Common pathogenetic mechanisms partially explain this coincidence. In particular, pathophysiological disorders of individual adaptation to stress can increase vulnerability to metabolic dysfunctions, which, in turn, contribute to psychopathological changes in the posttraumatic period. Seeing PTSD and MetS as systemic conditions involving dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, chronic low-grade inflammation, and other metabolic disorders, along with a lot of mental stress, has big effects on medical issues and the outlook for the diseases. Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with trauma exposure, regardless of psychiatric diagnosis, as well as with PTSD and its highly comorbid conditions, such as MetS. This narrative review aims to discuss the significance and properties of the relationships between PTSD, MetS, and chronic low-grade inflammation. We look at the outcomes of epidemiological, experimental, and clinical trials, as well as the specifics of common pathogenic links, particularly the impact of chronic low-grade inflammation and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Search strategy. The search was conducted in Scopus, Science Direct (from Elsevier), and PubMed, including Medline databases.