Department of Neurology, Geisinger Clinic, Danville, PA 17822-4400, USA.
Psychosom Med. 2012 Nov-Dec;74(9):912-5. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3182731007. Epub 2012 Oct 31.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered neuropsychological function, possibly including complex visual information processing. Grapheme-color synesthesia refers to the phenomenon that a particular letter or number elicits the visual perception of a specific color. The study objective was to assess if grapheme-color synesthesia was associated with PTSD among US veterans.
We surveyed 700 veterans who were outpatients in a multihospital system in Pennsylvania. All veterans had served at least one warzone deployment. PTSD and grapheme-color synesthesia were assessed using validated research instruments.
The mean age of veterans was 59 years, and 96% were men. The prevalence of current PTSD was 7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.1-8.8), and current partial PTSD was 11% (95% CI = 9.3-14.0). The prevalence of current depression was 6% (95% CI = 4.7-8.3). Altogether, 6% (95% CI = 4.8-8.5) of veterans screened positive for grapheme-color synesthesia. Bivariate analyses suggested that grapheme-color synesthesia was associated with current PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, p = .004) and current partial PTSD (OR = 2.4, p = .013), but not current depression (OR = 1.1, p = .91). Multivariate logistic regression results, adjusting for age, sex, marital status, level of education, current psychotropic medication use, and concussion history, confirmed these results.
Grapheme-color synesthesia seems to be associated with PTSD among veterans who had been deployed. This finding may have implications for PTSD diagnostic screening and treatment. Research is recommended to confirm this finding and to determine if synesthesia is a risk indicator for PTSD among nonveterans.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）与神经认知功能改变有关，可能包括复杂的视觉信息处理。文字-颜色联觉是指特定字母或数字会引起特定颜色的视觉感知的现象。本研究旨在评估美国退伍军人中文字-颜色联觉是否与 PTSD 有关。
我们调查了宾夕法尼亚州多医院系统的 700 名门诊退伍军人。所有退伍军人都至少参加过一次战区部署。使用经过验证的研究工具评估 PTSD 和文字-颜色联觉。
退伍军人的平均年龄为 59 岁，96%为男性。目前 PTSD 的患病率为 7%（95%置信区间[CI] = 5.1-8.8），目前部分 PTSD 的患病率为 11%（95% CI = 9.3-14.0）。目前抑郁症的患病率为 6%（95% CI = 4.7-8.3）。总的来说，6%（95% CI = 4.8-8.5）的退伍军人筛查出文字-颜色联觉阳性。双变量分析表明，文字-颜色联觉与目前 PTSD（比值比[OR] = 3.4，p =.004）和目前部分 PTSD（OR = 2.4，p =.013）有关，但与目前抑郁症无关（OR = 1.1，p =.91）。调整年龄、性别、婚姻状况、教育程度、当前使用精神药物和脑震荡史后，多变量逻辑回归结果证实了这些结果。
文字-颜色联觉似乎与退伍军人中经历过部署的 PTSD 有关。这一发现可能对 PTSD 诊断筛查和治疗具有重要意义。建议开展研究以确认这一发现，并确定联觉是否是非退伍军人 PTSD 的风险指标。
