Increased Skin Conductance Response in the Immediate Aftermath of Trauma Predicts PTSD Risk.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to a traumatic event leads to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 10-20% of exposed individuals. Predictors of risk are needed to target early interventions to those who are most vulnerable. The objective of the study was to test whether a noninvasive mobile device that measures a physiological biomarker of autonomic nervous system activation could predict future PTSD symptoms. Skin conductance response (SCR) was collected during a trauma interview in the emergency department within hours of exposure to trauma in 95 individuals. Trajectories of PTSD symptoms over 12 months post-trauma were identified using Latent Growth Mixture Modeling. SCR was significantly correlated with the probability of being in the chronic PTSD trajectory following trauma exposure in the ED (r=0.489, p

SUBMITTER: Hinrichs R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6553652 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature