Comorbidity Between Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder: Alternative Explanations and Treatment Considerations

Overview

Journal Dialogues Clin Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2015 Aug 7

PMID 26246789

Citations 223

Authors

Janine D Flory

Rachel Yehuda

Affiliations

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Abstract

Approximately half of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also suffer from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The current paper examines evidence for two explanations of this comorbidity. First, that the comorbidity reflects overlapping symptoms in the two disorders. Second, that the co-occurrence of PTSD and MDD is not an artifact, but represents a trauma-related phenotype, possibly a subtype of PTSD. Support for the latter explanation is inferred from literature that examines risk and biological correlates of PTSD and MDD, including molecular processes. Treatment implications of the comorbidity are considered.

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