A scoping review of the longitudinal association between posttraumatic stress disorder and cardiometabolic health in military populations.
TL;DR
Current longitudinal evidence in military populations suggests that PTSD is a predictor of hypertension, though its associations with other aspects of cardiometabolic health are less clear.
Abstract
This scoping review examined the bidirectional longitudinal association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cardiometabolic health in military populations. Five databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and ProQuest) were searched from database inception to May 2026 for peer reviewed studies, dissertations and theses, and government reports that reported observational longitudinal analyses of the associations between PTSD and cardiometabolic health variables of interest in adult military samples. Two independent reviewers conducted screening and data extraction. Data were synthesized by cardiometabolic variable. A total of 18 studies were included in the review. Most studies were conducted in the United States, enrolled veterans, and had primarily male samples. When examining whether PTSD predicted cardiometabolic health over time, the findings were mixed for lipids and glucose regulation. Most studies found that PTSD predicted hypertension over time, and one study found that PTSD predicted metabolic syndrome severity. Studies examining PTSD and inflammatory markers bidirectionally typically reported no association. Few studies examined whether cardiometabolic health predicted PTSD over time, with mixed or inconclusive findings across markers. Current longitudinal evidence in military populations suggests that PTSD is a predictor of hypertension, though its associations with other aspects of cardiometabolic health are less clear. Given the limited and mixed findings regarding bidirectional effects, additional prospective studies are needed to better understand the temporal association between PTSD and cardiometabolic health.