Prospective association between pro-inflammatory state on admission and posttraumatic stress following acute coronary...

The traumatic experience of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) may induce symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We examined whether the ACS-triggered acute inflammatory response predicts the development of PTSD symptoms.

Study participants were 70 patients (all Caucasian, 80% male, mean age 59 years) with myocardial infarction (MI) during the acute treatment phase. Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-1β were determined in plasma collected within 48 h of hospital admission. Participants self-assessed the severity of ACS-induced PTSD symptoms with the 17-item Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale at 12 months.

There was a significant positive association of the pro-inflammatory index (added standardized z-scores of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) with total PTSD symptom severity (ΔR² = 0.050, p = .029) and re-experiencing symptoms (ΔR² = 0.088, p = .008), but not avoidance/numbing and hyperarousal symptoms. Analyses were adjusted for the anti-inflammatory index (added standardized z-scores of IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-β1), trauma-focused counseling, sex, age, time since pain onset, troponin, body mass index, and distress during MI. Results were robust when the anti-inflammatory index was removed from the model. Additional analyses showed significant associations of both the net-inflammatory index (i.e., pro-inflammatory index minus anti-inflammatory index) and IL-1β with total PTSD symptom severity, re-experiencing, and hyperarousal symptoms (ΔR² between 0.042 and 0.090) and of IL-1β with avoidance/numbing symptoms (ΔR² = 0.050).

The findings suggest an association between the pro-inflammatory state launched during ACS and the development of PTSD symptoms. Increased IL-1β may play a particular role in the pathophysiology of ACS-induced PTSD symptoms.