Hair Cortisol predicts Avoidance Behavior and Depressiveness after first-time and single Event Trauma Exposure in Motor Vehicle Crash Victims.

Hair Cortisol predicts Avoidance Behavior and Depressiveness after first-time and single Event Trauma Exposure in Motor Vehicle Crash Victims. Stress. 2020 Jan 15;:1-28 Authors: Petrowski K, Wichmann S, Pyrc J, Steudte-Schmiedgen S, Kirschbaum C Abstract The role of cortisol as a premorbid vulnerability factor for trauma sequelae remains unclear. Furthermore, the onset of long-term endocrine changes in response to first time trauma as a function of later psychopathology is not clarified yet. Thus the predictive value of pre- and post-traumatic hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) for psychological trauma sequelae was investigated in response to motor vehicle crash (MVC).A total of N = 62 MVC survivors participated in this study [46 females, mean age (SD): 43.94(12.95)]. Subsequent trauma sequelae were measured with a structured clinical interview and self-report questionnaires to evaluate psychological symptoms (pre-MVC and three months post-MVC). Hair strands were taken immediately after MVC and three months post-MVC, reflecting cumulative cortisol secretion over the three-month period before and after the MVC.A total of 22.6% of the participants developed a trauma sequela with an affective disorder (14.5%) and/or anxiety disorder (16.1%). We observed a significant main effect of group and diagnosis x time interaction with an increase of HCC in those individuals who presented a subsequent psychiatric disorder. Regression analyses ...
Source: Stress - Category: Research Tags: Stress Source Type: research