A new review of data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) establishes statistical correlations between different health variables and PTSD.
According to the authors of the new study, which appears in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, the research may not indicate that these causes directly exacerbate PTSD, and the reverse may be true. However, their identification may still guide further study.
The research shed light on conditions recently linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, finding that, along with poverty and immigrant status, diet could be linked to a person's risk of developing PTSD.
Approximately one in 20 participants in the study of more than 27,000 people reported having PTSD, and researchers identified variables set out to isolate factors that may be tied to their risk.
They observed that people who reported consuming multiple fiber-rich foods a day had a lower risk of developing PTSD. Regular consumption of junk food, especially pastry or chocolate, was associated with a higher risk of PTSD.
In addition, researchers found that 6.9% of women and 3.9% of men had PTSD, which indicates that women were impacted about twice as much as men.
Among women, 8.8% of those who were divorced or widowed had PTSD compared to 4.4% of those who were still married or with a common-law partner.
The interpretation of the study supports previous research that suggests that men and women are more likely to develop PTSD at some points in their lives. Men are more likely to have PTSD in the early 40s, while women are more likely to have PTSD in the early 50s.
Dietary fiber may play an important role in the interaction between the gut and the brain, this study indicates. In the course of breaking down the fiber, gut microbes release short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), compounds believed to minimize inflammation in the body.
There is compelling evidence that scientists might one day strengthen mental health with prebiotics and probiotics-foods and supplements that feed healthy gut bacteria or increase the amount of beneficial microbes in the body, respectively.
The problem is that we do not yet know what an ideal microbiome for mental wellbeing looks like. Until we know more, the safest nutritional approach for mental health is to consume whole foods and lots of fiber, and to get rid of processed foods and added sugar, the researchers noted.
