Journal
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 132-139Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/da.22712
Keywords
genetic; PTSD; resilience; traumatic stress; twins; Vietnam Era Twin Registry
Categories
Funding
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Clinical Sciences Research and Development Program [PECASE2013A]
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Cooperative Studies Program [569]
- National Institute of Mental Health [K02AA023239, T32MH019836-01]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: To examine shared genetic and environmental risk factors across PTSD symptoms and resilience. Methods: Classical twin study of 2010-2012 survey data conducted among 3,318 male twin pairs in the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Analyses included: (a) estimates of genetic and environmental influences on PTSD symptom severity (as measured by the PTSD Checklist) and resilience (assessed with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10); (b) development of a latent model of traumatic stress, spanning both PTSD and resilience; and (c) estimates of genetic and environmental influences on this spectrum. Results: The heritability of PTSD was 49% and of resilience was 25%. PTSD and resilience were correlated at r = -.59, and 59% of this correlation was attributable to a single genetic factor, whereas the remainder was due to a single non-shared environment factor. Resilience was also influenced by common and unique environmental factors not shared with PTSD, but there was no genetic factor specific to resilience. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the Development of a revised phenotype reflecting the broader dimension of traumatic stress, with biometric models suggesting increased heritability (66%) of this spectrum compared to PTSD or resilience individually. Conclusions: Genetic factors contribute to a single spectrum of traumatic stress reflecting resilience at one end and high symptom severity at the other. This carries implications for phenotype refinement in the search for molecular genetic markers of trauma-related psychopathology. Rather than focusing only on genetic risk for PTSD, molecular genetics research may benefit from evaluation of the broader spectrum of traumatic stress.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available