TY  - BOOK
AU  - Violanti, John M.
TI  - Posttraumatic stress symptoms and subclinical cardiovascular disease in police officers
PY  - 2006///
KW  - Cardiovascular disease
KW  - Police
KW  - Posttraumatic stress disorder
KW  - Psychosocial risk factors
N1  - Psychology
N2  - The present study examined associations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with subclinical cardiovascular disease in police officers. A stratified sample of 100 police officers was randomly selected from the Buffalo, New York, Police Department. Cardiovascular disease biomarkers were assessed by ultrasound of the brachial artery (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]). PTSD symptoms were measured with the Impact of Event Scale (IES). FMD was lowest in the severe PTSD symptom category when compared to the mild PTSD symptom category (1.91 vs. 5.15% increase, respectively; p=.21) even after adjustment for lifestyle and demographics. In conclusion, higher PTSD symptomatology in this police sample was associated with a nearly twofold reduction in brachial artery FMD, a biomarker for subclinical cardiovascular disease
ER  -