| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol 57, Issue 2 105-115, Copyright © 1995 by American Psychosomatic Society
ORIGINAL ARTICLES |
AM Lemieux and CL Coe
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706, USA.
The following study tested the hypothesis that women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childhood sexual abuse would display elevated norepinephrine-to-cortisol ratios similar to that found in male combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected from 28 women: 11 women with PTSD who experienced childhood sexual abuse (PTSD+), 8 women who experienced childhood sexual abuse without PTSD (PTSD-), and 9 nonabused controls. All urine samples were tested for creatinine, total catecholamines, free-cortisol, and 17-ketosteroid levels. Psychological testing validated that the PTSD+ group was significantly elevated on all three subscales of the Impact of Events Scale. Both abused groups (PTSD+ and PTSD-) showed a tendency for polyuria, and the PTSD+ group showed a tendency towards obesity. Thus, neuroendocrine values (micrograms/day) were adjusted by creatinine clearance rates (creatinine mg/day/kg body weight). The corrected values indicated that the PTSD+ group had significantly elevated daily levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine, and cortisol. However, because of the parallel elevation in cortisol, the norepinephrine-to-cortisol ratio was not significantly elevated in the PTSD+ diagnosed women in contrast to the findings reported for male PTSD patients. This discrepancy may reflect an important gender difference, an interaction between gender and age at onset of the traumatic experience (childhood abuse in females vs. combat experience in young adult males), or physiological variation related to phase of the disorder.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  A. P. King, J. N. Leichtman, J. L. Abelson, I. Liberzon, and J. S. Seng Ecological Salivary Cortisol Analysis-- Part 2: Relative Impact of Trauma History, Posttraumatic Stress, Comorbidity, Chronic Stress, and Known Confounds on Hormone Levels Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, August 1, 2008; 14(4): 285 - 296. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. H. Veenema, S. O. Reber, S. Selch, F. Obermeier, and I. D. Neumann Early Life Stress Enhances the Vulnerability to Chronic Psychosocial Stress and Experimental Colitis in Adult Mice Endocrinology, June 1, 2008; 149(6): 2727 - 2736. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Leserman and D. A. Drossman Relationship of Abuse History to Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders and Symptoms: Some Possible Mediating Mechanisms Trauma Violence Abuse, July 1, 2007; 8(3): 331 - 343. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. H. T. Wheler, D. Brandon, A. Clemons, C. Riley, J. Kendall, D. L. Loriaux, and J. D. Kinzie Cortisol Production Rate in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., September 1, 2006; 91(9): 3486 - 3489. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Leserman Sexual Abuse History: Prevalence, Health Effects, Mediators, and Psychological Treatment Psychosom Med, November 1, 2005; 67(6): 906 - 915. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Gill, S. L. Szanton, and G. G. Page Biological Underpinnings of Health Alterations in Women With PTSD: A Sex Disparity Biol Res Nurs, July 1, 2005; 7(1): 44 - 54. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. G. Griffin, P. A. Resick, and R. Yehuda Enhanced Cortisol Suppression Following Dexamethasone Administration in Domestic Violence Survivors Am J Psychiatry, June 1, 2005; 162(6): 1192 - 1199. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. E Allsworth, S. Zierler, K. L Lapane, N. Krieger, J. W Hogan, and B. L Harlow Longitudinal study of the inception of perimenopause in relation to lifetime history of sexual or physical violence J. Epidemiol. Community Health, November 1, 2004; 58(11): 938 - 943. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. I. Garcia-Linares, S. Sanchez-Lorente, C. L. Coe, and M. Martinez Intimate Male Partner Violence Impairs Immune Control Over Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 in Physically and Psychologically Abused Women Psychosom Med, November 1, 2004; 66(6): 965 - 972. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. S. Charney Psychobiological Mechanisms of Resilience and Vulnerability: Implications for Successful Adaptation to Extreme Stress Focus, July 1, 2004; 2(3): 368 - 391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. A. Young and N. Breslau Cortisol and Catecholamines in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Epidemiologic Community Study Arch Gen Psychiatry, April 1, 2004; 61(4): 394 - 401. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. S. Charney Psychobiological Mechanisms of Resilience and Vulnerability: Implications for Successful Adaptation to Extreme Stress Am J Psychiatry, February 1, 2004; 161(2): 195 - 216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. S. Girdler, A. Sherwood, A. L. Hinderliter, J. Leserman, N. L. Costello, P. A. Straneva, C. A. Pedersen, and K. C. Light Biological Correlates of Abuse in Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and Healthy Controls Psychosom Med, September 1, 2003; 65(5): 849 - 856. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. M. Connor and M. I. Butterfield Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Focus, July 1, 2003; 1(3): 247 - 262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. COHEN, J. M. PEREL, M. D. DEBELLIS, M. J. FRIEDMAN, and F. W. PUTNAM Treating Traumatized Children: Clinical Implications of the Psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Trauma Violence Abuse, April 1, 2002; 3(2): 91 - 108. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Lamprecht and M. Sack Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Revisited Psychosom Med, March 1, 2002; 64(2): 222 - 237. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. D. Geracioti Jr., D. G. Baker, N. N. Ekhator, S. A. West, K. K. Hill, A. B. Bruce, D. Schmidt, B. Rounds-Kugler, R. Yehuda, P. E. Keck Jr., et al. CSF Norepinephrine Concentrations in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Am J Psychiatry, August 1, 2001; 158(8): 1227 - 1230. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. M. Sapolsky Glucocorticoids and Hippocampal Atrophy in Neuropsychiatric Disorders Arch Gen Psychiatry, October 1, 2000; 57(10): 925 - 935. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. W. Hawk, A. L. Dougall, R. J. Ursano, and A. Baum Urinary Catecholamines and Cortisol in Recent-Onset Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Motor Vehicle Accidents Psychosom Med, May 1, 2000; 62(3): 423 - 434. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. R. Bell, C. M. Baldwin, M. Fernandez, and G. E.R. Schwartz Neural sensitization model for multiple chemical sensitivity: overview of theory and empirical evidence Toxicology and Industrial Health, April 1, 1999; 15(3-4): 295 - 304. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Kollack-Walker, S. J. Watson, and H. Akil Social Stress in Hamsters: Defeat Activates Specific Neurocircuits within the Brain J. Neurosci., November 15, 1997; 17(22): 8842 - 8855. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Neuroendocrine Activation in Abused Women with PTSD Journal Watch Psychiatry, June 1, 1995; 1995(601): 1 - 1. [Full Text]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
