The University of Adelaide Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Department of Defence, Defence People Group, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
BMJ Mil Health. 2024 Sep 20;170(5):396-401. doi: 10.1136/military-2024-002725.
In military populations, the potential for under-reporting of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms and challenges in recognising early changes can make it difficult to detect an emerging disorder. However, early identification of PTSD symptoms would improve opportunities for intervention, and potentially reduce the likelihood of chronic mental health problems.
This study explored if changes in levels of inflammation, measured by C reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), were associated with the onset of psychological symptoms associated with PTSD. It also examined if changes in inflammation over time contributed to psychological risk and resilience, which was defined by psychological reactivity to deployment-related combat exposures. Participants were special forces personnel who completed psychological self-report questionnaires and had measures of CRP and IL-6 taken pre and post deployment. Regression analysis was used to examine how psychological symptoms predicted change in inflammation, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to examine differences between identified subgroups.
Results identify this population as having high levels of combat and trauma exposures, with low-level psychological symptoms. The results also identified a decrease in CRP and an increase in IL-6 over time. A significant difference in inflammation was identified between subgroups (p<0.05). An association between inflammatory markers and subthreshold symptoms related to anger (p<0.01) and sleep (p<0.05) was also identified.
These preliminary findings suggest inflammatory markers may help to identify adaptive responses post deployment. In addition, low-level increases in inflammatory markers may be associated with subthreshold PTSD symptoms. These findings offer potential insights for prevention, early identification and treatment in military and veteran populations.
在军事人群中，创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状的漏报可能性以及识别早期变化的挑战，使得发现新出现的障碍变得困难。然而，早期识别 PTSD 症状将改善干预机会，并可能降低慢性心理健康问题的可能性。
本研究探讨了 C 反应蛋白（CRP）和白细胞介素 6（IL-6）等炎症水平的变化是否与 PTSD 相关心理症状的发生有关。它还研究了炎症随时间的变化是否会导致心理风险和恢复力的变化，心理反应性被定义为与部署相关的战斗暴露相关的心理反应。参与者是特种部队人员，他们完成了心理自我报告问卷，并在部署前后进行了 CRP 和 IL-6 的测量。回归分析用于检查心理症状如何预测炎症变化，方差分析（ANOVA）用于检查确定的亚组之间的差异。
结果表明，该人群具有较高的战斗和创伤暴露水平，同时具有较低水平的心理症状。结果还表明，CRP 随时间降低，IL-6 随时间增加。亚组之间的炎症存在显著差异（p<0.05）。炎症标志物与与愤怒（p<0.01）和睡眠（p<0.05）相关的亚阈值症状之间存在关联。
这些初步发现表明炎症标志物可能有助于识别部署后的适应性反应。此外，炎症标志物的低水平增加可能与亚阈值 PTSD 症状有关。这些发现为军事和退伍军人人群的预防、早期识别和治疗提供了潜在的见解。
