The research, published Wednesday in the journal BMC Medicine, indicates a significant association between "metabolic syndrome" and PTSD.

Metabolic syndrome involves a combination of disorders, including obesity, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, that already had been shown to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of California, San Diego, found the syndrome also increases the risk of PSTD, an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more terrifying events that threatened or caused grave physical harm.

After analyzing clinical data from 253 male and female veterans, they found that those with a higher severity of PTSD were also more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome.

"Our findings suggest that metabolic syndrome provides a useful framework for assessing and describing the physical burden of PTSD and can be used prospectively to evaluate health risks that may be associated with combat exposure and PTSD," Pia Heppner of the Veterans Affairs of San Diego said.