P2546The treegenes study: psycho-trauma and cardiovascular impact in offspring

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The TreeGenes study assesses health, chronic psycho-trauma, and disease in three Dutch post-Holocaust generations. It has been shown before that chronic psycho-trauma accelerates atherosclerosis and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) offspring shows signs of both increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Hypothesis: PTSD offspring lacks adequate specialized medical intervention. Methods Mental health problems play an important role in this group and may contribute to chronic diseases. Therefore, we studied disease management in this group with a focus on cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cases and controls were randomly drawn from the TreeGenes database. Extensive personalized interviews and assessment of CVD were done non-invasively (heart rate variability, ECG, blood pressure and saturation assessment). In addition, risk factors and medication were noted. Procedures 38 Cases of PTSD offspring were assessed for CVD as well as other chronic diseases in an outpatient setting. Results Most study cases were suffering from chronic and active diseases: notably hypertension, CVD, gastrointestinal diseases as well as mental problems. All cases were seen by local family physicians and a psychological/psychiatric support system. Cases that were suffering from CVD were treated according to routine treatment protocol standards. Medical care was considered adequate by health care professionals standards. Study characteristics TreeGenes participants (n) Study group Controls Significance level Age in years (range) 65 (61–73) 62 (58–70) Active CVD 32/38 2/38 p<0.01 Hypertension medication 28/38 4/38 p<0.01 Lipid problem medication 31/38 6/38 p<0.01 Arrythmia 10/38 2/38 p<0.01 Smoking 2/38 1/38 ns Psychotropic medication 38/38 4/38 p<0.001 ns, not significant; psychotropic medication: anxiolitics, antidepressants and major psychotropic medication; CVD, cardiovascular disease, n, number. Conclusion The results (table 1) from the two groups are significantly different though matched for age and gender. Given the extra care offered to this offspring group, successful treatment of the underlying diseases should have been better. Given the poor success rate of routine protocol assessment, specialized training should be given to medical personnel involved. These results demand further investigation in similarly affected populations. Acknowledgement/Funding Jeremiasz Foundation