PTSD Is Linked to Food Addiction in Women, New Study Finds

A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry has found that women who suffer from the worst symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are twice as likely to be addicted to food than those who do not, Reuters reports.

Researchers link symptoms of PTSD in women to a psychological dependence on food, or food addiction. But the study doesn’t mean that there is a direct connection between PTSD and overeating.

“We don’t know if it’s causal. It’s an interesting relationship and probably worth following up,” Susan Mason, from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters.

To find out whether women were more likely to have a food addiction, in 2008 researchers asked 49,408 female nurses about PTSD symptoms. A year later they then asked the same group about food addiction.

They found the more symptoms of PTSD a woman had, the more likely it was for her to be addicted to food.

The findings could help doctors treat women with eating disorders, reports Reuters.

“Clinicians may be able to look for that information to deliver better care,” Mason said.

Researchers still don’t know what occurs first — food addiction or PTSD — but they hope the study will help them connect the dots.

“I just want this to add to a lot of research that people’s weight status is not just a symptom of willpower and education,” Mason said. “There may be psychological factors in play too.”

[Reuters]