Study Finds Relationship Between PTSD, Depression, and Cardiac Health Factors to Reduced Cognitive Function

A new study published in GeroScience—led by Michael Georgescu, a PhD candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health—provides evidence of an association between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, heart health, and reduced cognition among a nationally representative sample of middle-aged urban adults.

Analyzing data from 1,434 participants in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Lifespan study, researchers found that experiencing depression significantly elevated the association between PTSD and diminished verbal memory. The study also demonstrated that higher carotid intima media thickness (IMT) – a measurement of the thickness of the inner layers of arterial walls – enhanced the association between PTSD and depression.

Why This Matters

In the United States alone, more than 80% of people have been exposed to traumatic events, and about 9% experience PTSD as a result. PTSD is commonly experienced alongside depression, and both conditions are known to increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Depressive symptoms and chronic stress are also associated with higher IMT (buildup of plaque within the arteries), which means PTSD and depression pose risks to both mental and physical health. 

The relationship among PTSD, depression, cognitive function and cardiac health is an important research question, but, until now, few studies have examined that interaction in a diverse urban cohort of middle-aged adults.

These findings provide evidence of an association between PTSD and reduced cognitive function among middle-aged urban adults that can be partially attributed to depressive symptoms, which lead to potential declining verbal memory. The study also shows that higher IMT enhances the association between PTSD and depressive symptoms.

As the research suggests, interventions aimed at easing the symptoms of depression may alleviate the adverse effect of PTSD on verbal memory, and reducing IMT may decrease the effect of PTSD on depressive symptoms.

Key Findings

• Among 1,434 middle-aged urban adults, PTSD symptoms were strongly associated with depressive symptoms and poorer cognition.
• Higher carotid intima media (artery wall) thickness amplified the association between PTSD and depression.
• PTSD impairs verbal memory partly through depressive symptoms, with additional pathways, including socioeconomic, lifestyle, and health-related factors, contributing to broader cognitive decline.

What The Experts Say

“Our study provides evidence of an association between PTSD and cognitive functioning in middle-aged urban adults, partially through depressive symptoms in verbal memory, with carotid intima media thickness amplifying the PTSD-depression relationship,” Georgescu says. “These study findings could help with interventions in that reducing depressive symptoms may alleviate the adverse effect of PTSD on verbal memory, and that reducing intima media thickness may attenuate the effect of PTSD on depressive symptoms.”