Blast exposure interacts with genetic variant 5HTTLPR to predict posttraumatic stress symptoms in military explosives personnel.

The first of its kind, this study determined whether blast exposure interacts with genetic variant 5HTTLPR to predict posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in 78 military explosives operators. In all models, blast-exposed 5HTTLPR S carriers registered definitively higher PTS symptoms in comparison to non-exposed S carriers, as well as exposed and non-exposed LL carriers (all p < 0.01). All findings were robust to confounding influences of age and traumatic brain injury diagnosis. Not only is blast exposure prevalent in EOD personnel, but it also interacts with genetic predisposition to predict trauma symptoms in this unique, at-risk military population.