Does PTSD lead to autoimmune diseases?

Risk of autoimmune diseases after post-traumatic stress disorder: a nationwide cohort study (Hsu et al., 2024):

💡 What Was This Study About?

The researchers wanted to find out if people who experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop autoimmune diseases later in life.

🧠 What Is PTSD?

PTSD is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It can cause flashbacks, anxiety, and emotional distress.

🧬 What Are Autoimmune Diseases?

These are conditions where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. Examples include:

• Lupus

• Thyroiditis

• Sjogren’s Syndrome

• Rheumatoid arthritis

🧪 What Did They Do?

• They looked at over 5,000 people with PTSD in Taiwan.

• Compared them to over 21,000 people without PTSD.

• Tracked both groups for about 10 years using national health records.

🔍 What Did They Find?

• People with PTSD were more than twice as likely to develop an autoimmune disease.

• The more severe the PTSD, the higher the risk of developing one of these diseases.

• Some autoimmune diseases were especially more common in the PTSD group, like:

  
  

  • Lupus (nearly 3x more likely)

  • Thyroiditis (about 2.7x more likely)

  • Sjogren’s Syndrome (over 6x more likely)

    
    

🧠 Why Might This Happen?

The researchers believe that chronic stress caused by PTSD might affect how the immune system works — making it more likely to attack the body’s own cells.

🧾 Final Takeaway

This study adds to the growing evidence that mental health and physical health are deeply connected. People with PTSD may need extra monitoring for autoimmune issues.

Reference:

Hsu, T.-W., Bai, Y.-M., Tsai, S.-J., Chen, T.-J., Chen, M.-H., & Liang, C.-S. (2024). Risk of autoimmune diseases after post-traumatic stress disorder: A nationwide cohort study. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 274(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-023-01639-1