Objective

We collected naturalistic heart rate data from veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to investigate the effects of various factors on heart rate.

Background

PTSD is prevalent among combat veterans in the United States. While a positive correlation between PTSD and heart rate has been documented, specific heart rate profiles during the onset of PTSD symptoms remain unknown.

Method

Veterans were recruited during five cycling events in 2017 and 2018 to record resting and activity-related heart rate data using a wrist-worn device. The device also logged self-reported PTSD hyperarousal events. Regression analyses were performed on demographic and behavioral covariates including gender, exercise, antidepressants, smoking habits, sleep habits, average heart rate during reported hyperarousal events, age, glucocorticoids consumption, and alcohol consumption. Heart rate patterns during self-reported PTSD hyperarousal events were analyzed using Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). Heart rate data were also compared to an open-access non-PTSD representative case.

Results

Of 99 veterans with PTSD, 91 participants reported at least one hyperarousal event, with a total of 1023 events; demographic information was complete for 38 participants who formed the subset for regression analyses. The results show that factors including smoking, sleeping, gender, and medication significantly affect resting heart rate. Moreover, unique heart rate patterns associated with PTSD symptoms in terms of stationarity, autocorrelation, and fluctuation characteristics were identified.

Conclusion

Our findings show distinguishable heart rate patterns and characteristics during PTSD hyperarousal events.

Application

These findings show promise for future work to detect the onset of PTSD symptoms.

中文翻译：

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了解退伍军人对创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 的心率反应：一项自然主义研究

客观的

我们收集了被诊断患有创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) 的退伍军人的自然心率数据，以研究各种因素对心率的影响。

背景

创伤后应激障碍在美国的退伍军人中很普遍。虽然已经记录了 PTSD 和心率之间的正相关关系，但在 PTSD 症状发作期间的具体心率曲线仍然未知。

方法

在 2017 年和 2018 年的五次自行车比赛中招募了退伍军人，使用腕戴式设备记录休息和活动相关的心率数据。该设备还记录了自我报告的 PTSD 过度唤醒事件。对人口统计和行为协变量进行回归分析，包括性别、运动、抗抑郁药、吸烟习惯、睡眠习惯、报告的过度唤醒事件期间的平均心率、年龄、糖皮质激素消耗和酒精消耗。使用自回归综合移动平均 (ARIMA) 分析自我报告的 PTSD 过度唤醒事件期间的心率模式。心率数据也与一个开放获取的非 PTSD 代表性病例进行了比较。

结果

在 99 名患有 PTSD 的退伍军人中，91 名参与者报告了至少 1 次过度唤醒事件，总共 1023 次；构成回归分析子集的 38 名参与者的人口统计信息是完整的。结果表明，吸烟、睡眠、性别和药物等因素显着影响静息心率。此外，在平稳性、自相关性和波动特征方面，确定了与 PTSD 症状相关的独特心率模式。

结论

我们的研究结果显示了 PTSD 过度唤醒事件期间可区分的心率模式和特征。

应用

这些发现为未来检测 PTSD 症状发作的工作提供了希望。