Evaluation of Candidate Items for Severe PTSD Screening for Patients With Chronic Pain: Pilot Data Analysis With the IRT Approach

The Association Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Temporomandibular Disorders: A Systematic Review

The purpose of this systematic study was to discover a connection between temporomandibular joint disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. A systematic review of observational studies on post-traumatic stress disorder and the incidence of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) was conducted. Electronic searches of PubMed, the Saudi Digital Library, Science Direct, the Virtual Health Library (VHL), Scopus, Web of Science, Sage, EBSCO Information Services, and Ovid were performed. There was a consensus among the reviewing examiners. Only studies with the following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms were included: "Posttraumatic stress disorder" combined with "temporomandibular joint disorder," "myofascial pain," "orofacial pain," "internal derangement," "disc displacement with reduction," or "disc displacement without reduction." Only full-text studies in the English language published between 2010 and June 2020 were considered. Of a total of 381 articles meeting the initial screening criteria, only eight were included in the qualitative analysis. Overall, pain is exacerbated in patients with PTSD; that is, their TMD is heightened in all aspects of pain, chronicity, decreased response to conventional therapies, and the need for more potent treatment options as compared with patients with just TMD. The evidence, albeit weak, obtained from the studies included in this review suggests a relationship between PTSD and TMDs.

Accelerated longitudinal cortical atrophy in OEF / OIF / OND veterans with severe PTSD and the impact of comorbid TBI

Veterans who deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and New Dawn (OND) commonly experience severe psychological trauma, often accompanied by physical brain trauma resulting in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Prior studies of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have revealed alterations in brain structure, accelerated cellular aging, and impacts on cognition following exposure to severe psychological trauma and potential interactive effects of military‐related mTBI. To date, however, little is known how such deployment‐related trauma changes with time and age of injury of the affected veteran. In this study, we explored changes in cortical thickness, volume, and surface area after an average interval of approximately 2 years in a cohort of 254 OEF/OIF/OND Veterans ranging in age from 19 to 67 years. Whole‐brain vertex‐wise analyses revealed that veterans who met criteria for severe PTSD (Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale ≥60) at baseline showed greater negative longitudinal changes in cortical thickness, volume, and area over time. Analyses also revealed a significant severe‐PTSD by age interaction on cortical measures with severe‐PTSD individuals exhibiting accelerated cortical degeneration with increasing age. Interaction effects of comorbid military‐related mTBI within the severe‐PTSD group were also observed in several cortical regions. These results suggest that those exhibiting severe PTSD symptomatology have accelerated atrophy that is exacerbated with increasing age and history of mTBI.