Author Interviews, Gender Differences, PTSD, Stanford / 25.04.2017
Genetic Factors Raise Risk of PTSD After Trauma, Especially in Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Laramie E Duncan, PhD
Stanford University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that some people experience after a traumatic event, like a terrorist attack, military conflict, or violence in the home. When people have PTSD, they may experience flashbacks to the traumatic event, nightmares, and other recollections of the event that can interfere with their day-to-day lives.
Before this study, not everyone was convinced that genetic factors make some people more prone to developing PTSD than others. Using a study of over 20,000 people and analyzing over two hundred billion (200,000,000,000) pieces of genetic information, we demonstrated that developing PTSD is partly genetic. We also found that genetic factors seem to play a stronger role for women than men, though for everyone, experiencing trauma is still the most important factor.
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