Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with markers of accelerated aging. Estimates of brain age, compared to chronological age, may clarify the effects of PTSD on the brain and may inform treatment approaches targeting the neurobiology of aging in the context of PTSD.
Differential impact of PTSD on brain PAD in younger versus older males may indicate a critical window when PTSD impacts brain aging, followed by age-related brain changes that are consonant with individuals without PTSD. Future longitudinal research is warranted to understand how PTSD impacts brain aging across the lifespan.
Citation: Clausen AN, Fercho KA, Monsour M, Disner S, Salminen L, Haswell CC, Rubright EC, Watts AA, Buckley MN, Maron-Katz A, Sierk A, Manthey A, Suarez-Jimenez B, Olatunji BO, Averill CL, Hofmann D, Veltman DJ, Olson EA, Li G, Forster GL, Walter H, Fitzgerald J, Théberge J, Simons JS, Bomyea JA, Frijling JL, Krystal JH, Baker JT, Phan KL, Ressler K, Han LKM, Nawijn L, Lebois LAM, Schmaal L, Densmore M, Shenton ME, van Zuiden M, Stein M, Fani N, Simons RM, Neufeld RWJ, Lanius R, van Rooij S, Koch SBJ, Bonomo S, Jovanovic T, deRoon-Cassini T, Ely TD, Magnotta VA, He X, Abdallah CG, Etkin A, Schmahl C, Larson C, Rosso IM, Blackford JU, Stevens JS, Daniels JK, Herzog J, Kaufman ML, Olff M, Davidson RJ, Sponheim SR, Mueller SC, Straube T, Zhu X, Neria Y, Baugh LA, Cole JH, Thompson PM, Morey RA. Assessment of brain age in posttraumatic stress disorder: Findings from the ENIGMA PTSD and brain age working groups. Brain Behav. 2022 Jan;12(1):e2413. doi: 10.1002/brb3.2413. Epub 2021 Dec 14. PMID: 34907666; PMCID: PMC8785613.