Bichon Juliette A, Ellis Robyn A, Merker Julia B, Webber Theresa K, Seligowski Antonia V
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024;15(1):2436245. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2436245. Epub 2024 Dec 18.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) disproportionately affects women and recent evidence suggests that unique associations between sex hormones (e.g. estradiol and progesterone) and PTSD symptoms may contribute to this difference. In addition, trauma characteristics such as age at trauma and trauma type may influence this association. We aimed to replicate and extend the findings of a prior study that identified trauma characteristics (sexual trauma and age at trauma) as moderators of associations between estradiol and PTSD symptoms. Sixty-five trauma-exposed individuals assigned female at birth were included ( = 31.45). Participants provided blood samples for estradiol and progesterone assays. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) was used to assess trauma characteristics and PTSD symptoms. There were no significant correlations between estradiol, progesterone, and PTSD symptom severity. Regression analyses revealed no moderation effects by sexual trauma or age at trauma for estradiol. However, age at trauma significantly moderated the relationship between progesterone and total PTSD severity. Contrary to expectations, our results did not replicate prior research, as estradiol was not associated with PTSD severity in our sample. Progesterone was not directly associated with PTSD symptoms, but this relationship was moderated by age at trauma onset. Our findings suggest that trauma characteristics may influence the relationship between sex hormones and PTSD symptoms. While we didn't replicate previous associations between estradiol and PTSD symptoms, our study emphasizes the importance of considering trauma characteristics in understanding the relationship between sex hormones and PTSD.
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）对女性的影响尤为严重，最近有证据表明，性激素（如雌二醇和孕酮）与PTSD症状之间的独特关联可能是造成这种差异的原因。此外，创伤特征，如创伤时的年龄和创伤类型，可能会影响这种关联。我们旨在重复并扩展先前一项研究的结果，该研究确定创伤特征（性创伤和创伤时的年龄）是雌二醇与PTSD症状之间关联的调节因素。纳入了65名出生时被指定为女性且暴露于创伤事件的个体（平均年龄=31.45岁）。参与者提供血样以检测雌二醇和孕酮。使用《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第5版临床医生用PTSD量表（CAPS-5）来评估创伤特征和PTSD症状。雌二醇、孕酮与PTSD症状严重程度之间无显著相关性。回归分析显示，性创伤或创伤时的年龄对雌二醇不存在调节作用。然而，创伤时的年龄显著调节了孕酮与PTSD总严重程度之间的关系。与预期相反，我们的结果未能重复先前的研究，因为在我们的样本中雌二醇与PTSD严重程度无关。孕酮与PTSD症状无直接关联，但这种关系受到创伤发生时年龄的调节。我们的研究结果表明，创伤特征可能会影响性激素与PTSD症状之间的关系。虽然我们没有重复先前关于雌二醇与PTSD症状之间的关联，但我们的研究强调了在理解性激素与PTSD之间的关系时考虑创伤特征的重要性。
