Abstract
Genes, environmental factors, and their interplay affect posttrauma symptoms. Although environmental predictors of the longitudinal course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are documented, there remains a need to incorporate genetic risk into these models, especially in youth who are underrepresented in genetic studies. In an epidemiologic sample tornado-exposed adolescents (n = 707, 51% female, Mage = 14.54 years), trajectories of PTSD symptoms were examined at baseline and at 4-months and 12-months following baseline. This study aimed to determine if rare genetic variation in genes previously found in the sample to be related to PTSD diagnosis at baseline (MPHOSPH9, LGALS13, SLC2A2), environmental factors (disaster severity, social support), or their interplay were associated with symptom trajectories. A series of mixed effects models were conducted. Symptoms decreased over the three time points. Elevated tornado severity was associated with elevated baseline symptoms. Elevated recreational support was associated with lower baseline symptoms and attenuated improvement over time. Greater LGLAS13 variants attenuated symptom improvement over time. An interaction between MPHOSPH9 variants and tornado severity was associated with elevated baseline symptoms, but not change over time. Findings suggest the importance of rare genetic variation and environmental factors on the longitudinal course of PTSD symptoms following natural disaster trauma exposure.
Highlights
70% of the general population endorse experiencing a traumatic event in their lifetime, with 7% experiencing a natural disaster
The present study sought to expand upon the existing literature and previous gene-based findings by our group to determine the longitudinal association of environmental variables and impact of rare variant genetic risk, and their interaction, on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms over time in an adolescent, tornado-exposed sample (N = 707)
We found evidence of the importance of age, recreational social support, rare variation in MPHOSPH9 interacting with trauma severity, and rare variation in LGALS13 on PTSD symptom change over time
Summary
70% of the general population endorse experiencing a traumatic event in their lifetime, with 7% experiencing a natural disaster (e.g., tornado, floods; [1]). The prevalence of PTSD following disaster has been estimated at up to 40% among victims, 10–20% among rescue workers, and 5–10% in the general population [2,3]. Brain Sci. 2019, 9, 146 has generally been found that, relative to the risk of adult survivors, youth show greater risk of severe impairment following disasters (see review by [4]). Numerous studies of childhood PTSD following natural disasters have estimated prevalence to be over 30% [5,6,7] and demonstrated that these events can have a long-lasting impact (e.g., more than a year following a disaster; [8]). Much of the extant work, is cross-sectional and there remains a need to examine the course of symptoms over time following a natural disaster
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