Inflammatory markers in world trade center workers with asthma: Associations with post traumatic stress disorder

Background Post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) is associated with worse asthma outcomes in individuals exposed to the World Trade Center (WTC) site. Research question Do WTC workers with coexisting PTSD and asthma have a specific inflammatory pattern that underlies the relationship with increased asthma morbidity? Study design and methods We collected data on a cohort of WTC workers with asthma recruited from the WTC Health Program. Diagnosis of PTSD was ascertained with a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders) and the severity of PTSD symptoms was assessed with the PTSD Checklist 5. We obtained blood and sputum samples to measure cytokines levels in study participants. Results Of the 232 WTC workers with diagnosis of asthma in the study, 75 (32%) had PTSD. PTSD was significantly associated with worse asthma control (p = 0.002) and increased resource utilization (p = 0.0002). There was no significant association (p>0.05) between most blood or sputum cytokines with PTSD diagnosis or PCL-5 scores both in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Interpretation Our results suggest that PTSD is not associated with blood and sputum inflammatory markers in WTC workers with asthma.