Socio-demographic and trauma-related predictors of PTSD within eight weeks of a motor vehicle collision in the AURORA study

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Ronald C. Kessler, Harvard Medical School; Kerry Ressler, Emory University; Stacey L. House, Washington University in St. Louis; Francesca L. Beaudoin, Brown University; Xinming An, University of North Carolina; Jennifer Stevens, Emory University; Donglin Zeng, University of North Carolina; Lauren Hudak, Emory University; Thaddeus Pace, Emory University; Sanne van Rooij, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-07-01
• Publisher: Springer Nature [academic journals on nature.com]
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41380-020-00911-3
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: 3108
• End Page: 3121
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

Abstract

This is the initial report of results from the AURORA multisite longitudinal study of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS) among participants seeking emergency department (ED) treatment in the aftermath of a traumatic life experience. We focus on n=666 participants presenting to EDs following a motor vehicle collision (MVC) and examine associations of participant socio-demographic and participant-reported MVC characteristics with 8-week posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) adjusting for pre-MVC PTSD and mediated by peritraumatic symptoms and 2-week acute stress disorder (ASD). Peritraumatic Symptoms, ASD, and PTSD were assessed with self-report scales. Eight-week PTSD prevalence was relatively high (42.0%) and positively associated with participant sex (female), low socioeconomic status (education and income), and several self-report indicators of MVC severity. Most of these associations were entirely mediated by peritraumatic symptoms and, to a lesser degree, ASD, suggesting that the first 2 weeks after trauma may be a uniquely important time period for intervening to prevent and reduce risk of PTSD. This observation, coupled with substantial variation in the relative strength of mediating pathways across predictors, raises the possibility of diverse and potentially complex underlying biological and psychological processes that remain to be elucidated with more in-depth analyses of the rich and evolving AURORA data.