People with less body response to stress task had more PTSD signs after COVID-19 began
Study findings surprised researchers, who had expected the reverse,
researcher says

Date:
August 31, 2020
Source:
Baylor University
Summary:
People who did not have a large heart rate response to a stress
task surprised researchers later -- after the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic - - when they showed more symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder related to the crisis than others who also did
the stress task and COVID- 19 stress ratings.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== People who did not have a large heart rate response to a stress task
surprised researchers later -- after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic --
when they showed more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder related
to the crisis than others who also did the stress task and COVID-19
stress ratings.


========================================================================== Researchers had anticipated that the reverse would be true -- that those
with higher heart rate reactions to the stress task would experience more distress related to COVID-19. Previous work shows individuals with a PTSD
have higher responses to stress. But very few studies have examined heart
rate responses to acute stress before the onset of a traumatic event, researchers said.

"The study shows that diminished biological arousal -- how the body
responds when it is exposed to something startling or stressful --
before a global pandemic may predict PTSD symptoms related to the event,"
said principal investigator Annie T. Ginty, Ph.D., assistant professor
of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University.

The biological reactions were measured by blood pressure and heart rate,
said co-author Danielle Young, Psy.D., research coordinator in the Baylor Behavioral Medicine Lab.

The study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, grew out of
an ongoing study of undergraduate students at Baylor University.

"The research also showed that some college students were experiencing
distress related to the pandemic in its earliest stages, even when social distancing was just beginning," Ginty said.



==========================================================================
In the study's first phase, with 120 participants, researchers measured
their resting heart rate and blood pressure before and during a standard
acute psychological stress test. They asked students to do mental math,
rather than writing down figures or using a calculator, and give the
scorers verbal responses. In a four-minute test, they were asked to
add consecutive single- digit numbers while remembering the most recent
and adding it to the next number presented. They did this while being videotaped with a scorer present and looking at themselves in a mirror.

"The standard acute psychological stress task is meant to increase
levels of stress by including requirements of cognitive effort, social evaluation, self- evaluation and competition," Ginty said. "The
task substantially increases heart rate and feelings of stress."
The study's first phase, which ended in February 2020, was done in
Central Texas. After the pandemic's onset, researchers launched a second
phase between March 26 and April 5, sending participants a follow-up questionnaire about COVID-19. The participants were in 22 states after
early campus closure due to COVID-19. When asked, none had tested positive
for COVID-19 and 87.5 percent were living in a city/state with a "shelter
in place" order.

The questionnaire included standard items used to measure PTSD symptoms
of intrusion (dreaming about the event and having trouble staying asleep), hyperarousal (irritability and having trouble concentrating) and avoidance (trying not to think or talk about the event) in the seven days before
they responded to the questionnaire.

The findings are in line with a previous study of soldiers, which showed
that a lower response of cortisol -- the primary stress hormone -- to
an acute psychological stress task before deployment predicted greater
PTSD symptoms post deployment.



==========================================================================
The present study supports growing evidence that lower biological
arousal in response to psychological stress may be bad for health
outcomes, particularly mental health outcomes. The findings support
Ginty's previous work, which demonstrated that lower arousal to acute
stress is associated with higher levels of perceived stress -- meaning
that people rate their environment as more stressful.

Previous work also has shown that higher levels of biological arousal
may be associated with developing PTSD symptoms. But those studies
used what are considered passive tasks -- such as hearing loud bursts
of noise. Lower biological responses to stress tasks that require
participants to actively engage in the task may be a unique biomarker
for mental health outcomes.

Ginty said that future research should aim for more comprehensive measures
of biological reactivity and include a lifetime history of traumatic event exposure. However, the current study did account for childhood trauma
and diagnosis of a mental health condition before the pandemic's onset.

"Since findings suggest that individuals with diminished arousal to
active stress may be at greater risk for negative mental health outcomes,
it could be helpful to offer preventive treatment or resources to them
at the early stages of stress or trauma exposure," Ginty said.

*Co-researchers included the Department of Cognitive and Behavioral
Science and Neuroscience Program at Washington and Lee University in
Lexington, Virginia, and the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, United Kingdom.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Baylor_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Annie T. Ginty, Danielle A. Young, Alexandra T. Tyra, Page
E. Hurley,
Ryan C. Brindle, Sarah E. Williams. Heart rate reactivity to acute
psychological stress predicts higher levels of PTSD symptoms during
the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychosomatic Medicine, 2020; Publish Ahead
of Print DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000848 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200831165700.htm

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