Cortisol response to a cognitive stress challenge in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood abuse (original) (raw)
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Higher Cortisol Levels Following Exposure to Traumatic Reminders in Abuse-Related PTSD
Neuropsychopharmacology, 2003
Animal studies have found that prior stressful events can result in increased reactivity in the HPA-axis. Baseline function of the HPA-axis has typically been normal or decreased in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), however. The first purpose of this study was to assess cortisol responsivity to traumatic reminders in women with PTSD related to childhood abuse.
The role of cortisol in PTSD among women exposed to a trauma-related stressor
Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2012
Research linking post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to hypercortisolism in laboratory experiments was extended to a natural clinical setting. Mothers of children diagnosed with a lifethreatening illness (N = 92) completed standardized measures of PTSD and provided a salivary cortisol sample during their child's medical checkup (Time 1) and again 24 h later, after the threat of possible negative medical reports was removed (Time 2). Women who met diagnostic criteria for PTSD exhibited significantly higher cortisol levels at Time 1 compared to women who did not meet criteria for a diagnosis. No significant differences were observed for cortisol levels at Time 2 between the women with and without PTSD. These findings extend current laboratory findings linking hypercortisolism and PTSD to a natural, stressful situation. Implications for understanding the etiology of PTSD as well as for possible prevention and intervention options are discussed.
Sensitization of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1997
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can occur in individuals who have experienced traumatic events. The symptoms of PTSD were initially conceptualized as reflecting a natural process of adaptation to extraordinarily adverse life event~.l-~ However, in recent years prevalence studies have clarified that PTSD only occurs in a percentage of those exposed to trauma."' Furthermore, among trauma survivors who develop this disorder, a substantial proportion appear to show full remission of their symptoms over time.6 This observation demonstrates that chronic PTSD represents a specific type of adaptation to trauma, which may not necessarily reflect typical or even normative stress responsiveness.1°
Frontiers in psychology, 2017
Background: Although depression symptoms are often experienced by individuals who develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma exposure, little is know about the biological correlates associated with PTSD and depression co-morbidity vs. those associated with PTSD symptoms alone. Methods: Here we examined salivary cortisol responses to trauma activation in a sample of 60 survivors of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001. Participants recalled the escape from the attacks 7 months post 9/11. Salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after their recollection of the trauma. PTSD, depression, and somatic symptoms were also assessed. From the behavioral assessment scales, the participants were grouped into three conditions: those with comorbid PTSD and depressive symptoms, PTSD alone symptoms, or no-pathology. Results: Baseline and cortisol response levels differed between the comorbid, PTSD alone, and no-pathology groups. Individuals endorsing co-m...
Implications of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Functioning in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 2011
BACkgrounD: Cortisol secretions serve as the barometer of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates and controls responses to stress. Studies of cortisol secretions in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) reveal inconsistent results. PurPoSe: Current research on HPA axis functioning in PTSD is examined to elucidate the neuroendocrine contributions in the disorder, identify current treatment's impact on the HPA axis, and consider implications for nursing care and areas for future research. FInDIngS: There is evidence for HPA dysregulation in PTSD, which contributes to widespread impairment in functions such as memory and stress reactivity and to physical morbidity via processes such as allostatic load. There is limited, but building, evidence that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which is released simultaneously with cortisol, may provide anti-glucocorticoid and neuroprotective effects. ConCluSIon: Current treatments such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and psychotherapy may have a beneficial impact on the HPA axis in PTSD populations. Somatic approaches to treating PTSD have not yet been studied in relation to their impact on HPA axis parameters in PTSD patients. Treatment studies of DHEA or glucocorticoids have not yet used HPA axis endpoints. PTSD treatment studies that include measures of HPA axis target mechanisms and consider HPA axis regulation as an additional treatment outcome are warranted.
Salivary Cortisol Lower in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2013
Altered cortisol has been demonstrated to be lower in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in most studies. This cross-sectional study evaluated salivary cortisol at waking, 30 minutes after, and bedtime in 51 combat veterans with PTSD compared to 20 veterans without PTSD. It also examined the relationship of cortisol to PTSD symptoms using two classifications: DSM-IV and the more recent four-factor classification proposed for DSM-V. The PTSD group had lower cortisol values than the control group (F(6, 69) = 3.35, p = .006). This significance did not change when adding age, body mass index, smoking, medications affecting cortisol, awakening time, sleep duration, season, depression, perceived stress, service era, combat exposure, and lifetime trauma as covariates. Post-hoc analyses revealed that the PTSD group had lower area under the curve ground and waking, 30min, and bedtime values while the cortisol awakening response and area under the curve increase were not different between groups. The four-factor avoidance PTSD symptom cluster was associated with cortisol but not the other symptom clusters. This study supports the finding that cortisol is lower in people with PTSD.
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and several other chronic illnesses. Alterations in the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in PTSD might contribute to these associations but findings regarding SNS and HPA activity in PTSD are heterogeneous. We measured 24-h urinary catecholamines and cortisol in a large cohort of adult outpatients recruited from 2 Veterans Affairs medical centers. 24-h urinary norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine and cortisol were measured by tandem mass spectrometry. Lifetime and current PTSD were assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale using DSM-IV-TR criteria. Out of 613 participants, 199 (32.5%) had current PTSD, 100 (16.3%) had lifetime but not current PTSD, and 314 (51.2%) never had PTSD. Patients with current PTSD had significantly higher norepinephrine secretion compared to those without PTSD. Patients in the lifetime PTSD group ex...
Altered cortisol awakening response in posttraumatic stress disorder
Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2006
An altered function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is assumed to be characteristic for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), although there is inconsistent empirical evidence. Only few studies examined the awakening cortisol response and a daytime profile in PTSD. Salivary cortisol levels were measured at seven intervals from awakening until 8 PM in trauma-exposed subjects with (NZ29) and without PTSD (NZ19) and in 15 non-exposed controls. While the three groups did not differ with respect to their first cortisol level immediately after awakening, the expected cortisol increase to awakening 15-60 min later was significantly lower in PTSD patients compared to non-PTSD subjects and healthy controls. This effect remained stable when trauma-exposed subjects with comorbid major depression were excluded from the analysis. A significant negative correlation between the overall cortisol secretion (AUC G ) and overall PTSD symptomatology and hyperarousal symptoms was found. The findings are discussed in light of the hypothesis of a counterregulation of hyperarousal symptoms and chronic stress in PTSD. Q
The latest development in the dimensional structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a novel 6-factor model, which builds on the newly released DSM-5. One notable gap in the literature is that little is known about how distinct symptom clusters of PTSD are related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity when people perform a relatively less stressful cognitive task. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cortisol activity when individuals perform cognitive tasks in the laboratory and a contemporary phenotypic model of posttraumatic stress symptomatology in earthquake survivors.