Urinary catecholamines and cortisol in recent-onset posttraumatic stress disorder after motor vehicle accidents

Objective: This study examined relationships among stress hormone levels, p osttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and symptoms, and gender shor tly after a common civilian trauma. Methods: Levels of catecholamines and c ortisol in 15-hour urine samples were examined in 55 adults who had been in serious motor vehicle accidents and in 22 age-matched control. Results: Ca techolamines were related to PTSD diagnosis and symptoms, but only among me n: PTSD-symptomatic men who had been in an accident exhibited elevated leve ls of epinephrine and norepinephrine 1 month after the accident and had hig her epinephrine levels 5 months later. intrusive thoughts predicted catecho lamine levels at 1 month, and avoidance of trauma-relevant stimuli was asso ciated with higher epinephrine levels 5 months later. These effects were no t significant among women. Urinary cortisol was also elevated among PTSD-sy mptomatic men, but not women, and only immediately (1 month) after the acci dent. For men and women, greater emotional numbing predicted a lower cortis ol level 6 months after the accident. Conclusions: These findings were inte rpreted as limited support for the generalizability of findings in men with chronic, combat-related PTSD and indicate the need for additional research on psychoendocrine assessment of traumatized women and specific dimensions of PTSD symptomatology.