Lifetime mania is related to post-traumatic stress symptoms in high school students exposed to the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake

Background Bipolar patients seem to be at high risk of trauma exposure and, when exposed, of PTSD. When comorbid, PTSD has shown a negative impact on the course of the bipolar illness. Conversely, a correlation between even manic symptoms and an increased risk for suicide has also been reported in PTSD patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between lifetime mood spectrum symptoms and PTSD in a sample of earthquake survivors. Methods A total of 475 young adults who survived the L’Aquila 2009 earthquake, 21 months earlier, were assessed by the Moods Spectrum-Self Report (MOODS-SR) and the Trauma and Loss Spectrum Self Report (TALS-SR). Results Significantly higher MOODS-SR and TALS-SR domain scores were found in PTSD survivors compared to those without. The mood depressive (O.R. = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.10–1.25), cognition depressive (O.R. = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.01–1.14) and energy manic (O.R. = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02–1.25) MOODS-SR domains were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of PTSD. Conclusions Our data corroborate the strong relationship between mood disorder and PTSD highlighting a relationship between lifetime depressive and manic symptoms and PTSD, with a particular impact of the latter on the number of traumatic exposures and maladaptive behaviors.