Soldiers' Risk for PTSD Can Be Predicted Before Deployment by Hormone Levels: Researchers

A soldier salutes the flag during a welcome home ceremony for troops arriving from Afghanistan on June 15, 2011 to Fort Carson, Colorado. More than 500 soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team returned home following a year of heavy fighting and high casualties in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province. (John Moore/Getty Images)

A soldier salutes the flag during a welcome home ceremony for troops arriving from Afghanistan in 2011. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Soldiers have always battled the emotional and psychological trauma of war, but new research may now shed light on the likelihood of developing post-traumatic stress disorder before they reach the front line.

Some soldiers may be predisposed to PTSD based on a hormonal imbalance, according to research published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Conducted at the University of Texas at Austin, the study suggested cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, could induce PTSD if testosterone levels are suppressed.

Researchers think the hormone association could be used to determine soldiers at greater risk for developing PTSD prior to deployment and maybe even help prevent it. The stress-related disorder currently affects an estimated 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Science Daily reports.

“We are still analyzing more data from this project, which we hope will reveal additional insights into risk for combat-related stress disorders and ultimately how to prevent them,” the study’s author Michael Telch told UT News.

—RealClearLife