Anxiety and Depression Mediate the Relationship of Medication-Resistant PTSD to Quality of Life in Service Members

Abstract Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a significant problem for military service members. For many, PTSD symptoms do not fully remit with available treatments; however, little is known about patients with medication-resistant PTSD. The present research sought to examine the complex relationship of PTSD to patients’ quality of life (QoL) utilizing data previously collected as part of a larger randomized clinical trial of a pharmacological augmentation treatment for individuals with PTSD who did not responded to standard medication treatments. Comorbid psychological conditions, including anxiety and depression, may interfere with treatment response and are known to have debilitating consequences on QoL. Therefore, we sought to examine whether anxiety and depression mediated the relationship of PTSD to QoL across multiple domains. Results indicated depression completely mediated the relation of PTSD to physical, psychological, and social QoL, while anxiety mediated relations to physical and social QoL. This study provides insight into the challenges of individuals who retain PTSD symptoms following treatment as well as the complex relationship of PTSD, co-occurring conditions, and QoL.