Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis function. Measurement of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) allows retrospective assessment of HPA axis regulation over prolonged periods of time. Currently, research investigating HCC in PTSD remains sparse. Previous cross‐sectional studies have included only civilian populations, although it is known that trauma type moderates associations between PTSD status and HPA axis function. We investigated differences in HCC between trauma‐exposed female police officers with current PTSD (n = 13) and without current and lifetime PTSD (n = 15). To investigate whether HCC was associated with neural correlates of PTSD, we additionally performed exploratory correlational analyses between HCC and amygdala reactivity to negative affective stimuli. We observed significantly lower HCC in participants with PTSD than in participants without PTSD, d = 0.89. Additionally, within participants with PTSD, we observed positive correlations between HCC and right amygdala reactivity to negative affective (vs. happy/neutral) faces, r = .806 (n = 11) and left amygdala reactivity to negative affective (vs. neutral) pictures, r = .663 (n = 10). Additionally, left amygdala reactivity to negative faces was positively correlated with HCC in trauma‐exposed controls, r = .582 (n = 13). This indicates that lower HCC is associated with diminished amygdala differentiation between negative affective and neutral stimuli. Thus, we observed lower HCC in trauma‐exposed noncivilian women with PTSD compared to those without PTSD, which likely reflects prolonged HPA axis dysregulation. Additionally, HCC was associated with hallmark neurobiological correlates of PTSD, providing additional insights into pathophysiological processes in PTSD.
Highlights
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function
We investigated whether hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) was correlated with amygdala reactivity to negative affective stimuli in participants with PTSD and trauma-exposed controls (TCs) and whether the magnitude of the correlation coefficient differed between groups
Compared to female trauma-exposed police officers without PTSD, we observed significantly lower HCC in female police officers with PTSD. This finding is in line with what was reported by Luo and colleagues (2012), who observed lower HCC in individuals with PTSD compared to TCs in a sample of female adolescent earthquake survivors several months after the earthquake; mean HCC in women with PTSD was comparable to what was found in the current study
Summary
This study was part of a randomized controlled trial on neural effects of a single oxytocin administration in male and female trauma-exposed police officers with and without PTSD who were between 18 and 65 years of age (Koch et al, 2016b). Group had to have reported at least one DSM-IV Criterion A traumatic event and scored a 15 or less on the CAPS. They were matched to patients based on sex, age, education, and years of service. Exclusion criteria for TCs were lifetime MDD or PTSD or any current DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric disorder. Exclusion criteria for all participants were daily use of psychoactive medication (incidental use was allowed as long as it had not occurred less than 24 hr prior to scanning) or systemic glucocorticoids, serious medical conditions, a history of neurological disorders, and several common contraindications for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and oxytocin administration (Koch et al, 2016b).
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