The impact of PTSD on associations between sex hormones and cardiovascular disease symptoms

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Women have twice the lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) relative to men, and PTSD is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Two sex hormones – estradiol and progesterone – have been found to impact both PTSD and CVD symptomatology, but the way in which sex hormones influence cardiovascular physiology among individuals with PTSD is not well understood. Objective: This study sought to clarify the association between sex hormones, PTSD, and CVD among trauma-exposed women. Method: Sixty-six trauma-exposed women (M age = 31.45, SD = 8.92) completed a clinical interview for PTSD and self-reported CVD symptoms; estradiol and progesterone were assayed from blood samples. The association between each sex hormone and CVD symptoms was analyzed, controlling for age, systolic blood pressure (BP), and diastolic BP. Results: Neither estradiol nor the PTSD-by-estradiol interaction was significantly associated with CVD symptoms. Higher progesterone and, relatedly, progesterone-to-estradiol ratio (PE ratio) were each significantly associated with greater CVD symptom severity, but only for individuals with lower relative PTSD severity. Conclusions: The findings indicate that PTSD moderates the relationship between progesterone and CVD symptoms, and further research is warranted to reconcile findings in existing literature regarding the direction of and mechanisms behind this relationship.