Elevations of serum T3 levels and their association with symptoms in World War II veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: replication of findings in Vietnam combat veterans.

OBJECTIVE: In previous serum thyroid studies, we reported an unusual thyroid profile, including elevated levels of total and free triiodothyronine (T3), total thyroxine (T4), and thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) with no elevations in free T4 and thyrotropin (TSH) in Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to control subjects. In a subsample of Vietnam veterans, we found a significant positive correlation between total T3, free T3, and PTSD symptoms, specifically hyperarousal symptoms. In the present study, we explored the generalizability of our findings to World War II (WWII) veterans with PTSD.
METHOD: Clinical symptoms were assessed in and serum thyroid measures were obtained from 12 WWII veterans with PTSD and 18 WWII veterans without PTSD.
RESULTS: WWII veterans with combat-related PTSD showed elevations of serum total and free T3 with no elevations of free T4 and TSH compared to control subjects, replicating the results of our previous studies. A significant positive relationship between total and free T3 and PTSD symptoms, specifically hyperarousal symptoms, was also replicated in the total WWII group. Elevations of total T4 and TBG were not replicated in the WWII group with PTSD, which may indicate a shift with age in the free/bound dynamics of the thyroid alterations observed.
CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the observation that the thyroid system is altered in chronic combat-related PTSD. The observed alterations of thyroid function along with PTSD symptoms appear to be chronic, detectable 50 years after the war.