Hawk L W, Dougall A L, Ursano R J, Baum A
University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Psychosom Med. 2000 May-Jun;62(3):423-34. doi: 10.1097/00006842-200005000-00016.
This study examined relationships among stress hormone levels, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and symptoms, and gender shortly after a common civilian trauma.
Levels of catecholamines and cortisol in 15-hour urine samples were examined in 55 adults who had been in serious motor vehicle accidents and in 22 age-matched control.
Catecholamines were related to PTSD diagnosis and symptoms, but only among men: PTSD-symptomatic men who had been in an accident exhibited elevated levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine 1 month after the accident and had higher epinephrine levels 5 months later. Intrusive thoughts predicted catecholamine levels at 1 month, and avoidance of trauma-relevant stimuli was associated with higher epinephrine levels 5 months later. These effects were not significant among women. Urinary cortisol was also elevated among PTSD-symptomatic men, but not women, and only immediately (1 month) after the accident. For men and women, greater emotional numbing predicted a lower cortisol level 6 months after the accident.
These findings were interpreted as limited support for the generalizability of findings in men with chronic, combat-related PTSD and indicate the need for additional research on psychoendocrine assessment of traumatized women and specific dimensions of PTSD symptomatology.
本研究调查了常见平民创伤后不久，应激激素水平、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）诊断及症状与性别的关系。
对55名遭遇严重机动车事故的成年人及22名年龄匹配的对照者的15小时尿液样本中的儿茶酚胺和皮质醇水平进行检测。
儿茶酚胺与PTSD诊断及症状相关，但仅在男性中如此：事故后1个月，有PTSD症状的男性事故受害者肾上腺素和去甲肾上腺素水平升高，5个月后肾上腺素水平更高。闯入性思维可预测1个月时的儿茶酚胺水平，而回避与创伤相关的刺激与5个月后更高的肾上腺素水平相关。这些效应在女性中不显著。有PTSD症状的男性尿液皮质醇水平也升高，但女性未升高，且仅在事故后立即（1个月）升高。对于男性和女性，情感麻木程度越高预示事故后6个月皮质醇水平越低。
这些发现被解释为对患有慢性、与战斗相关PTSD的男性研究结果的普遍性提供了有限支持，并表明需要对受创伤女性的心理内分泌评估及PTSD症状的特定维度进行更多研究。
