The Association of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder With Clinic and Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Healthy Adults

ABSTRACTObjectivePosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with incident cardiovascular risk. We tested the association of PTSD with clinic and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in a sample of healthy participants and tested ABP reactivity to anxiety as a mechanism by which PTSD may influence blood pressure (BP).MethodsParticipants were originally enrolled during workplace BP screenings at three sites; approximately 6 years (standard deviation = 1.0) later, they completed nine clinic BP assessments within three visits, 1 week apart. Before the third visit, participants were screened for PTSD (≥33 on the PTSD Checklist–Civilian) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and then completed 24-hour ABP monitoring with electronic diary assessment of anxiety (0–100) at each awake reading.ResultsOf 440 participants, 92 (21%) screened positive for PTSD. In regression models adjusted for depression and demographic and clinical variables, PTSD was associated with greater mean systolic BP (3.8 mm Hg clinic [95% confidence interval {CI}] = 1.1–6.5, p = .006), 3.0 mm Hg awake ABP [95% CI = 0.1–5.9, p = .04], and a nonsignificant 2.1 mm Hg ABP during sleep [95% CI = −1.0 to 5.1, p = .18]). PTSD was associated with greater 24-hour median anxiety (p
Source: Psychosomatic Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research