Kolacz Jacek, Tabares Jeffrey V, Roath Olivia K, Rooney Emily, Secor Austin, Nix Evan J, Tomlinson Camie A, Bryan Craig J
Traumatic Stress Research Consortium, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, College of Medicine, Ohio State University.
Psychol Trauma. 2025 Apr 14. doi: 10.1037/tra0001918.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can co-occur with somatic symptoms, associations which may be partly due to threat-responsive changes in the autonomic nervous system. Prior studies support between-person associations of elevated autonomic symptoms with higher PTSD severity. However, there is a need to distinguish between- and within-person variation in symptoms over time.
This study used a latent growth model with structured residuals to examine the dynamics of PTSD and autonomic symptoms in a U.S. population-based sample. Participants were 475 adults with an exposure to a potentially traumatic stressor ( = 47.89 ± 17.46; 62.9% female; 64.0% Caucasian, 14.3% Black or African American, 13.5% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian, 5.9% mixed race or ethnicity). Data were collected over four time points spaced approximately 1.5 months apart between July 2020 and January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. PTSD and autonomic symptoms were measured using the Abbreviated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist and the supradiaphragmatic symptoms subscale of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Short Form.
Latent PTSD and autonomic symptoms were positively associated (β = .499, = .048). At each wave, within-individual elevations in PTSD symptoms co-occurred with elevations in autonomic symptoms (β range: .221-.317). At several time points, elevated PTSD symptoms also predicted future elevations in autonomic symptoms (β range: .215-.304, < .05). A history of childhood maltreatment was associated with higher PTSD (β = .309, < .001) and autonomic symptom intercepts (β = .335; < .001).
Results support the linkage between PTSD and autonomic symptoms over time and suggest that elevations in PTSD symptoms may precede future autonomic symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状可能与躯体症状同时出现，这种关联可能部分归因于自主神经系统中对威胁做出反应的变化。先前的研究支持自主症状升高与更高的PTSD严重程度之间的个体间关联。然而，有必要区分症状随时间的个体间差异和个体内差异。
本研究使用具有结构化残差的潜在增长模型，以检验美国基于人群样本中PTSD和自主症状的动态变化。参与者为475名成年人，他们曾暴露于潜在的创伤性应激源（年龄 = 47.89 ± 17.46岁；62.9%为女性；64.0%为白种人，14.3%为黑人或非裔美国人，13.5%为西班牙裔，2.3%为亚洲人，5.9%为混合种族或族裔）。在2020年7月至2021年1月的新冠疫情期间，在大约相隔1.5个月的四个时间点收集数据。使用简化创伤后应激障碍检查表和身体感知问卷简表的膈上症状子量表测量PTSD和自主症状。
潜在的PTSD和自主症状呈正相关（β = .499，p = .048）。在每一波次中，个体内PTSD症状的升高与自主症状的升高同时出现（β范围：.221 - .317）。在几个时间点，升高的PTSD症状也预测了未来自主症状的升高（β范围：.215 - .304，p < .05）。童年期虐待史与更高的PTSD（β = .309，p < .001）和自主症状截距相关（β = .335；p < .001）。
结果支持了PTSD和自主症状随时间的联系，并表明PTSD症状的升高可能先于未来的自主症状出现。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2025美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
