Correlation Between Cortisol,ACTH,Emotion And Clinical Symptoms In Patients With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Object: To investigate the changes of serum cortisol,adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)and emotion in patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD),and their correlation with clinical symptoms Methods:From December 2016 to August 2018,41 PTSD patients and 41 healthy persons were selected from the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology of a tertiary hospital in Xinjiang,who were diagnosed as PTSD according to the American Mental Disorders Diagnosis and Statistics Manual(4th edition).When they were admitted to group,general questionnaire was used to record general information,;The PTSD group was investigated by using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD),the Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA),and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Check-list-Civilian Version(PCL-C),which were performed and assessed by 2 psychiatric clinicians;Blood samples of the two groups were taken,and the serum levels of ACTH and cortisol were detected by ELISA.Results: 1.In the comparison between the PTSD group and the control group,there was a statistically significant difference in serum ACTH and cortisol between the two groups(P<0.01).According to gender and menstrual cycle,ACTH and cortisol levels in serum were still different between the two groups,which was statistically significant(P < 0.05).2.In PTSD group,serum cortisol was correlated with total HAMD score(r =-0.543),and scores of day and night change(r =-0.576),block(r =-0.540),despair(r =-0.653),sleep disorder(r =-0.511),and systemic symptoms(r =-0.443),which were statistically significant(P<0.05),but was not correlated with scores of anxiety/somatization,weight,and cognitive impairment(P>0.05).There was no correlation between serum ACTH and each scale factor score of HAMD(P>0.05).3.In the PTSD group,serum cortisol and ACTH were not correlated with each scale factor score of HAMA(P>0.05).4.In PTSD group,serum cortisol was correlated with total score of PCL-C(r=-0.712),and scores of re-experience symptoms(r=-0.818),avoidance/numbness symptoms(r=-0.590)and hyper-arousal symptoms(r=-0.593),which were statistically significant(P<0.01).Serum ACTH was correlated and total score of PCL-C(r=-0.420),and scores of re-experience symptoms(r=-0.493)and avoidance/numbness symptoms(r=-0.419),which were statistically significant(P<0.05),but was not correlated with score of hyper-arousal symptoms(P > 0.05).5.In PTSD group,the total score of HAMD was correlated with the total score of PCL-C(r = 0.558),scores of the re-experience symptoms(r = 0.581)and hyper-arousal symptoms(r = 0.573),which were statistically significant(P < 0.01),but was not correlated with score of avoidance/numbness symptoms(P > 0.05).The total score of HAMA was correlated with the total score of PCL-C(r=0.525),score of avoidance/ numbness symptoms(r=0.497)and hyper-arousal symptoms(r=0.462),which were statistic-ally significant(P < 0.05),but was not correlated with score of re-experience symptoms(P > 0.05).Conclusion: 1.Serum cortisol and ACTH levels in group PTSD were lower than those in healthy controls.2.The levels of Serum cortisol and ACTH,and Emotional change provide more evidence for assessing the degree of symptoms in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder...