P635. Post-Traumatic Stress in Older Adults with Hypertension During the Early Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevalence, Correlates, and Pro-Inflammatory Biomarkers

Abstract

BackgroundPost-traumatic stress symptoms include intrusion phenomena, hypervigilance, avoidance, and negative alterations in mood and cognition and are associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, especially in older adults. As higher proinflammatory marker levels are shown in PTSD, immune dysregulation may underlie these associations. Cytokine dysregulation could underlie onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms in COVID-19 survivors.MethodsAdults aged 60-90 years with hypertension completed hemodynamic testing, plasma biomarker measurements, and psychological and cognitive assessments. Prevalence of PTSS was determined based on a PC-PTSD cut-off score of 3. Group comparisons were conducted using Wilcoxon rank sum or Chi-squared tests. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to test whether pre-pandemic measures predicted PTSS group status and PC-PTSD scores.ResultsNinety-five subjects completed the study. Pre-COVID-19, the two PTSS groups did not differ by age, anti-hypertensive medication usage, Framingham Risk Score, or inflammatory biomarker levels. Framingham risk scores were marginally correlated with inflammatory biomarkers and MoCA scores. Prevalence of PTSS in this cohort of older adults with hypertension during the pandemic was 7.4%, greater than the pre-pandemic prevalence of PTSD in the general population of 4.7% but lower than 15-23% reported in other adult samples during the pandemic. Female sex and baseline anxiety levels predicted PTSS during the pandemic. The inflammation index odds ratios were 1.21 and 1.17.ConclusionsUnderstanding pandemic PTSS in aging adults with chronic conditions that increase risk for COVID severity will aid in developing targeted prevention and mitigation strategies to decrease the psychological and physiological burden for vulnerable aging populations.Supported ByR01HL126056, R03AG063328KeywordsInflammatory Biomarkers, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Hypertension BackgroundPost-traumatic stress symptoms include intrusion phenomena, hypervigilance, avoidance, and negative alterations in mood and cognition and are associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, especially in older adults. As higher proinflammatory marker levels are shown in PTSD, immune dysregulation may underlie these associations. Cytokine dysregulation could underlie onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms in COVID-19 survivors. Post-traumatic stress symptoms include intrusion phenomena, hypervigilance, avoidance, and negative alterations in mood and cognition and are associated with increased risk for cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disorders, especially in older adults. As higher proinflammatory marker levels are shown in PTSD, immune dysregulation may underlie these associations. Cytokine dysregulation could underlie onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms in COVID-19 survivors. MethodsAdults aged 60-90 years with hypertension completed hemodynamic testing, plasma biomarker measurements, and psychological and cognitive assessments. Prevalence of PTSS was determined based on a PC-PTSD cut-off score of 3. Group comparisons were conducted using Wilcoxon rank sum or Chi-squared tests. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to test whether pre-pandemic measures predicted PTSS group status and PC-PTSD scores. Adults aged 60-90 years with hypertension completed hemodynamic testing, plasma biomarker measurements, and psychological and cognitive assessments. Prevalence of PTSS was determined based on a PC-PTSD cut-off score of 3. Group comparisons were conducted using Wilcoxon rank sum or Chi-squared tests. Binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to test whether pre-pandemic measures predicted PTSS group status and PC-PTSD scores. ResultsNinety-five subjects completed the study. Pre-COVID-19, the two PTSS groups did not differ by age, anti-hypertensive medication usage, Framingham Risk Score, or inflammatory biomarker levels. Framingham risk scores were marginally correlated with inflammatory biomarkers and MoCA scores. Prevalence of PTSS in this cohort of older adults with hypertension during the pandemic was 7.4%, greater than the pre-pandemic prevalence of PTSD in the general population of 4.7% but lower than 15-23% reported in other adult samples during the pandemic. Female sex and baseline anxiety levels predicted PTSS during the pandemic. The inflammation index odds ratios were 1.21 and 1.17. Ninety-five subjects completed the study. Pre-COVID-19, the two PTSS groups did not differ by age, anti-hypertensive medication usage, Framingham Risk Score, or inflammatory biomarker levels. Framingham risk scores were marginally correlated with inflammatory biomarkers and MoCA scores. Prevalence of PTSS in this cohort of older adults with hypertension during the pandemic was 7.4%, greater than the pre-pandemic prevalence of PTSD in the general population of 4.7% but lower than 15-23% reported in other adult samples during the pandemic. Female sex and baseline anxiety levels predicted PTSS during the pandemic. The inflammation index odds ratios were 1.21 and 1.17. ConclusionsUnderstanding pandemic PTSS in aging adults with chronic conditions that increase risk for COVID severity will aid in developing targeted prevention and mitigation strategies to decrease the psychological and physiological burden for vulnerable aging populations. Understanding pandemic PTSS in aging adults with chronic conditions that increase risk for COVID severity will aid in developing targeted prevention and mitigation strategies to decrease the psychological and physiological burden for vulnerable aging populations.