Dynamics of PTSD and autonomic symptoms in a longitudinal U.S. population-based sample

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can co-occur with somatic symptoms, associations which may be partly due to threat-responsive changes in the autonomic nervous system. Prior studies support between-person associations of elevated autonomic symptoms with higher PTSD severity. However, there is a need to distinguish between- and within-person variation in symptoms over time.

This study used a latent growth model with structured residuals to examine the dynamics of PTSD and autonomic symptoms in a U.S. population-based sample. Participants were 475 adults with an exposure to a potentially traumatic stressor (M_age = 47.89 ± 17.46; 62.9% female; 64.0% Caucasian, 14.3% Black or African American, 13.5% Hispanic, 2.3% Asian, 5.9% mixed race or ethnicity). Data were collected over four time points spaced approximately 1.5 months apart between July 2020 and January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. PTSD and autonomic symptoms were measured using the Abbreviated Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist and the supradiaphragmatic symptoms subscale of the Body Perception Questionnaire-Short Form.

Latent PTSD and autonomic symptoms were positively associated (β = .499, SE = .048). At each wave, within-individual elevations in PTSD symptoms co-occurred with elevations in autonomic symptoms (β range: .221-.317). At several time points, elevated PTSD symptoms also predicted future elevations in autonomic symptoms (β range: .215-.304, p < .05). A history of childhood maltreatment was associated with higher PTSD (β = .309, p < .001) and autonomic symptom intercepts (β = .335; p < .001).

Results support the linkage between PTSD and autonomic symptoms over time and suggest that elevations in PTSD symptoms may precede future autonomic symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).