Adverse Childhood Experiences, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Symptom Severity Among Patients with Autonomic Disorders and Overlapping Chronic Pain Conditions

We examined whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) or current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) predicted symptom severity and quality of life in patients with autonomic disorders like postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and associated chronic overlapping pain conditions. Although it is known that trauma exposure and PTSD are associated with persistent sympathetic arousal, little work has examined this relationship in patients with chronic autonomic health conditions. We hypothesized that ACEs and PTSD would be associated with worse autonomic clinical outcomes.

Source: The Journal of Pain - April 1, 2024 Category: Materials Science Authors: Taylor Crouch, Mary Wells, Madison Maxwell, Tom Chelimsky Source Type: research