Genetic risk for PTSD may vary depending on the type of trauma experienced, large study suggests
A study reveals that your genes may make you more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from certain types of trauma—particularly childhood neglect—than from others.
A recent study suggests that one's genetic makeup may make them more vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from certain types of trauma, with a focus on childhood neglect. The research, published in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, indicates that both environmental and genetic factors influence the risk of developing PTSD.
The study, involving 144,702 individuals from the UK Biobank and three other studies, examined the impact of 11 different traumatic experiences on PTSD symptoms. Childhood traumas, such as emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, were found to be more strongly associated with PTSD symptoms and gene-trauma interaction than adulthood traumas. Childhood abuse was more strongly linked to PTSD symptoms than childhood neglect, with the latter's association on gene-influence being more moderate.
The research highlights the importance of considering trauma exposure information in future PTSD genetics studies, as it could provide a better understanding of how genetic changes affect an individual's risk of developing the disorder.
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