The cortisol awakening response in a 3 month clinical trial of service dogs for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

ABSTRACT: Recent literature suggests that service dogs may be a valuable complementary intervention option for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military veterans due to the potential influence on stress response dysregulation. The aim of this short-term longitudinal study was to quantify the impact of service dogs in US military veterans with PTSD with particular attention to the cortisol awakening response. A sub aim of the study was to empirically evaluate the physiological effects of PTSD service dogs on veteran partners. We conducted a clinical trial (ID: NCT03245814) that assessed the cortisol awakening response for 245 participants at baseline and 3 months follow-up across an intervention group (service dog: veterans n = 88, partners n = 46) and control group (usual care: n = 73, par

SUBMITTER: Nieforth LO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10796379 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature