<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
THURSDAY, Oct. 24, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Stress-related disorders are associated with an increased risk for life-threatening infections, according to a study published online Oct. 23 in The BMJ<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Huan Song, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Iceland in Reykjavik, and colleagues examined whether severe psychiatric reactions to trauma and other adversities correlate with subsequent risk for life-threatening infections using data from 144,919 individuals with stress-related disorders (identified from 1987 to 2013), 184,612 matched full siblings, and 1,449,190 matched individuals from the general population.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the incidence of life-threatening infections was 2.9, 1.7, and 1.3 per 1,000 person-years in individuals with a stress-related disorder, siblings without a diagnosis, and matched individuals without a diagnosis, respectively. Individuals with a diagnosis of a stress-related disorder had an increased risk for life-threatening infections compared with full siblings without a diagnosis (hazard ratios, 1.47 for any stress-related disorder; 1.92 for posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]); in the population-based analysis, the corresponding estimates were similar (hazard ratios, 1.58 for any stress-related disorder and 1.95 for PTSD). There were correlations for stress-related disorders with all studied life-threatening infections. Higher hazard ratios were seen with younger age at diagnosis of a stress-related disorder and presence of psychiatric comorbidity, while hazard ratios were attenuated with use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the first year after diagnosis.<\/p>\n
“Despite a relatively low absolute risk, the high mortality from life-threatening infections calls for increased clinical awareness among health professionals caring for patients with stress-related disorders,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n