Positive association between sex hormones and inflammatory cytokines in trauma-exposed premenopausal women

New-onset autoimmunity in people living with post-traumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND Prior observational studies suggest an association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and autoimmune disorders; however, a comprehensive evaluation of this relationship remains limited. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, using the TriNetX global network, individuals newly diagnosed with chronic PTSD without autoimmune disease at baseline were propensity-score-matched to individuals without PTSD (2005-2025). Matching included age, sex, race, ethnicity, obesity, smoking, and psychiatric comorbidities variables. Cox models estimated the risk of 32 new-onset autoimmune disorders during 5-year follow-up period, overall and by organ class. Analyses were repeated across subgroups defined by sex, age, race, ethnicity, and the presence or absence of depression and/or anxiety. RESULTS The matched cohort included 316,482 individuals (mean age, 38.5 ± 16.6 years; 64.1% women). Over 1,054,536 person-years of follow-up, new autoimmune disorders occurred in 12,845 (8.37%) individuals with PTSD and 9,988 (6.51%) individuals without PTSD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.34 [95% CI 1.30-1.37]; absolute risk difference calculated over 4 years was 2.9% [2.7-3.1]). PTSD was associated with higher risks of rheumatologic (HR, 1.33 [1.26-1.41]), gastrointestinal (1.25 [1.15-1.36]), hematologic (1.59 [1.39-1.81]), endocrine (1.40 [1.35-1.45]), and neurologic autoimmune disorders (1.53 [1.31-1.78]). The increased risk remained consistent in sex-stratified analyses, with HRs of 1.20 [1.15-1.25] in men and 1.32 [1.29-1.36] in women, and across all ages, racial, and ethnic subgroups and in subjects with or without comorbid depression and/or anxiety. CONCLUSIONS PTSD is associated with an increased risk of subsequent development of autoimmune disorders.

Is passive smoking associated with acute stress response? An observational real-world study

This study aimed to elucidate the potential association between passive smoking and the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among high-stress rescue workers, including the magnitude of such an association, and to provide a evidence-based references for the early screening, prevention, and management of PTSD risk in high-stress rescue workers. Using a cross-sectional design, the study distributed self-administered questionnaires to grassroots officers and soldiers. Data from 4,460 valid respondents were analyzed with logistic regression to quantify the association between passive smoking and positive screening under the Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) scale and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Univariate analysis showed that passive smokers had a 2.509-fold higher risk of ASD compared with non-passive smokers (OR = 2.509, 95% CI = 1.621–3.883, p < 0.001), and a 3.298-fold higher risk of PTSD (OR = 3.298, 95% CI = 1.459–7.451, p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between passive smoking and ASD risk (OR = 1.990, 95% CI = 1.959–3.144, p = 0.003), Passive smoking showed a strong risk association with PTSD in the partially adjusted model (model 2: OR = 3.360, 95% CI = 1.473–7.665, p = 0.004; model 3: OR = 3.360, 95% CI = 1.473–7.665, p = 0.004), but this relationship was attenuated and became non-significant in the fully adjusted model (OR = 2.513, 95% CI = 0.9–5.151, p = 0.085). Stratified analysis among non-smokers showed that passive smokers had a 2.487-fold (OR = 2.487, 95% CI = 1.427–4.334, p = 0.001) higher risk of ASD than non-passive smokers in the univariate model. Further multivariate analysis indicated that, compared with non-smokers without passive smoking exposure, the risk of ASD was significantly elevated in both the exclusive passive smoking group (OR = 1.910, 95% CI = 1.071–3.408, p = 0.028) and the group with both active and passive smoking (OR = 2.389, 95% CI = 1.143–4.992, p = 0.021). Significant correlations were identified between passive smoking and ASD/PTSD across the entire cohort. Specifically, among non-smokers, passive smoking exposure correlated significantly with elevated ASD risk, but its relationship with PTSD risk was indistinct. For the early screening of high-stress rescue populations, particular attention should be paid to documenting passive smoking exposure. Early intervention strategies need to prioritize reinforcing the enforcement of tobacco control policies and creating smoke-free settings, in order to mitigate the risk of ASD and PTSD linked to passive smoking exposure. Clinical research registration number: ChiCTR1900023441, registered on 27 May 2019.

Early trauma exposure moderates associations between cortisol reactivity and youth anxiety and externalizing symptoms.

Early (before age 6) potentially traumatic events (PTEs) may interact with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning to shape outcomes involving externalizing problems and anxiety. However, directions of effects remain unclear. This study examined associations between aspects of HPA axis reactivity, anxiety, and externalizing problems over two years by early PTE exposure history, while statistically capturing the co-occurrence of symptom domains. Youth (N = 189; Mage = 10.96 years, SD = 2.51, Range = 8-15; 52.4% female, 47.1% male; 50.3% White, 35.4% Black/African American, 6.4% Other; 7.4% Hispanic/Latine) were included if they had early PTE exposure (n = 107) or had never experienced a PTE (n = 82). HPA axis reactivity to social stress was calculated using area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) and increase (AUCi). For youth with early PTE exposure, higher AUCg was concurrently associated with more externalizing symptoms and greater predominance of externalizing over anxiety. Blunted AUCi predicted increasing predominance of externalizing for the early PTE group, but elevated AUCi predicted increases in anxiety for the no PTE group. Findings highlight distinct roles of overall and reactive HPA axis functioning in shaping outcomes following early trauma.

Early-life adversity and negative emotional responses are associated with hashimoto's thyroiditis.

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Systemic Biomarker Alterations in Alcohol and Psychoactive Substance Users: A Cross-Sectional Study

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are increasingly associated with systemic inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and cardiometabolic dysregulation; however, the biological signatures underlying distinct substance-use patterns remain incompletely characterized. This study compared biomarker profiles among healthy controls and clinical groups comprising alcohol-associated polysubstance users (A + PS), non-alcohol substance users (PS-A), and alcohol-associated polysubstance users with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD+). Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), cortisol, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were evaluated through comparative, multivariate, dose–response, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. All clinical groups exhibited significantly increased IL-6, CRP, cortisol, and NT-proBNP levels compared with controls, indicating systemic physiological dysregulation associated with substance exposure. Among the evaluated biomarkers, IL-6 demonstrated the most robust and consistent performance across all analytical approaches. Multivariate regression identified alcohol consumption as an independent predictor of IL-6 elevation (p = 0.0003), while dose–response analysis revealed progressive increases in IL-6 according to alcohol consumption severity. ROC analysis further demonstrated that IL-6 exhibited the highest discriminatory performance (AUC = 0.844), outperforming CRP, cortisol, and NT-proBNP in distinguishing substance-using individuals from controls. Collectively, these findings were able to identify IL-6 as a central biomarker associated with substance-related systemic inflammatory dysregulation and support its translational potential as a sensitive indicator of physiological burden associated with chronic alcohol and substance exposure.