A PTSD diagnosis in premenopausal women was associated with lower cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (13.8 vs 19.0 ms/mmHg, p=0.005) compared to trauma-exposed women without PTSD.
Cross-Sectional (n=53)
Does a PTSD diagnosis reduce cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity and increase blood pressure variability in premenopausal women?
Premenopausal women with PTSD demonstrate blunted cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity and a trend toward higher systolic blood pressure variability, suggesting an increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
Absolute Event Rate: 13.8% vs 19%
p-value: p=0.005
Reduced baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is a known marker for increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and is linked to poor autonomic control of blood pressure (BP). Although the adverse consequences of hypertension largely depend on absolute BP, recent studies support that increased BP variability (BPV) is associated with end-organ damage and contributes to CVD. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate cardiovagal BRS and indices of BPV in premenopausal women diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We hypothesized that women with PTSD (PTSD+) will present with both lower BRS and higher beat-to-beat BPV when compared to trauma-exposed women without PTSD (PTSD-). We recruited twenty-six PTSD+ (27 ± 6 years) and twenty-seven PTSD- (25 ± 5 years) women and collected mental health questionnaires and anthropometric data. Resting beat-to-beat BP (finger plethysmography) and heart rate (electrocardiography) were continuously measured for 10 min. We calculated resting cardiovagal BRS via the sequence technique and the average real variability as an index of BPV. PTSD symptom severity was assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and depression symptom severity using Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI). We ran an unpaired t-test to compare the two groups. As expected, PTSD+ women had higher BDI score (24 ± 10 vs 13 ± 9 a.u., p< 0.001) and higher PCL-5 score (40 ± 14 vs 25 ± 15 a.u., p< 0.001) compared to PTSD-. Our analyses revealed that BRS was lower (13.8 ± 5.2 vs 19.0 ± 7.7 ms/mmHg, p=0.005) and systolic BPV tended to be higher (1.65 ± 0.34 vs 1.51 ± 0.32 mmHg, p=0.057) in PTSD+ compared to PTSD-. However, diastolic BPV was comparable between the groups. Next, given that body mass index was higher in PTSD+ compared to PTSD- (28.5 ± 6.5 vs 25.0 ± 3.5 kg/m 2 , p=0.013), we ran a univariate analysis of covariance to account for body mass index in our primary outcomes. BRS remained lower F(1, 48) = 9.21, p=0.004 and systolic BPV higher F(1, 50) = 4.03, p=0.050 in PTSD+ compared to PTSD−. Diastolic BPV results remained unchanged. Taken together, our findings indicate that in premenopausal women, a PTSD diagnosis may initiate and/or exacerbate known risk factors for hypertension and CVD, such as blunted cardiovagal BRS and high BPV. Support or Funding Information: This study was supported by grants K01HL161027, R03HL174817, UMN CTSI UL1TR002494 and U54AT012307. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.
Corbin et al. (Fri,) conducted a cross-sectional in Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n=53). PTSD diagnosis vs. Trauma-exposed women without PTSD was evaluated on Cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) (p=0.005). A PTSD diagnosis in premenopausal women was associated with lower cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (13.8 vs 19.0 ms/mmHg, p=0.005) compared to trauma-exposed women without PTSD.