Our findings may have important, immediate relevance. The wide-ranging prescription of stimulant medications includes their use to maintain alertness in military personnel (Gore et al., 2010), a practice reportedly more frequently employed by the United States military in recent conflicts (Friedman, 2012). In fact, a recent New York Times column (Friedman, 2012) raised the question of whether the surge in PTSD prevalence could be attributed to the increase in stimulant use. Given the decreased performance reported (Hamidovic et al., 2009) with administration of amphetamines in rs12364283 G allele carriers, and our current findings of increased PTSD risk, additional research will be necessary to determine whether this practice, and perhaps all stimulant prescriptions, are best avoided in individuals with this polymorphism.
