Prescription Stimulants and PTSD Among U.S. Military Service Members.
Nancy F Crum-Cianflone, Melissa A Frasco, Richard F Armenta, Christopher J Phillips, Jaime Horton, Margaret A K Ryan, Dale W Russell, Cynthia LeardMann
Author Information
Nancy F Crum-Cianflone: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Melissa A Frasco: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Richard F Armenta: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Christopher J Phillips: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Jaime Horton: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Margaret A K Ryan: Occupational Medicine Department, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Camp Pendleton, California, USA.
Dale W Russell: Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Cynthia LeardMann: Deployment Health Research Department, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California, USA.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent condition among military service members and civilians who have experienced traumatic events. Stimulant use has been postulated to increase the risk of incident PTSD; however, research in this area is lacking. In this study, the association between receipt of prescription stimulants and PTSD was examined in a secondary analysis among active duty U.S. military members (n = 25,971), participating in the Millennium Cohort Study, who completed a baseline (2001-2003) and two follow-up surveys (between 2004-2008). Prescription stimulant data were obtained from the military Pharmacy Data Transaction Service. PTSD was assessed using the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version and incident PTSD was defined as meeting the criteria at follow-up among those who did not have a history of PTSD at baseline. Overall, 1,215 (4.7%) persons developed new-onset PTSD during follow-up. Receipt of prescription stimulants were significantly associated with incident PTSD, hazard ratio = 5.09, 95% confidence interval [3.05, 8.50], after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, military characteristics, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, baseline mental and physical health status, deployment experiences, and physical/sexual trauma. Findings suggested that prescription stimulants are associated with incident PTSD among military personnel; these data may inform the underlying pathogenesis of and preventive strategies for PTSD.
