Comparison of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors among War Veterans Suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disease with Normal Healthy Men in Zanjan

Background and Objective: It seems that war veterans are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases due to their existing disabilities and special mental and psychological conditions. This study was performed to evaluate the risk of cardiovascular disease and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Iran-Iraq war veterans living in Zanjan in ۲۰۱۱. Materials and Methods: ۳۶۰ men including ۱۲۰ war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ۱۲۰ war veterans with major depression and ۱۲۰ normal healthy men as the control group comprised this descriptive study and data was collected concerning their past medical history along with a comprehensive physical examination. The participants’ anthropometric index was measured by standard methods. Serum glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, insulin and liver enzymes were measured for all the participants after at least ۱۲ hours of fasting and ten-year risk estimation for cardiovascular events was performed via Framingham scoring system. Finally, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome was compared among the groups. Results: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in war veterans with and without PTSD was ۲۹.۲% and ۲۷.۵%, respectively, which was higher than the control group (۱۸.۳%). ۱۸.۴% of war veterans with PTSD was estimated to be of high risk for cardiovascular events in upcoming ten years which means higher than the other two study groups namely in war veterans without PTSD and normal subjects, respectively. The most common risk factor in veterans with PTSD was overweight and obesity as found in ۵۸% of them. 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Keywords: Cardiovascular Risk Factors ، Metabolic Syndrome ، War Veterans