Objective: Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed inconsistencies in their cortisol level, an index of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function. This study examined the relationship between dissociation, childhood trauma, and morning cortisol levels in PTSD patients.
Methods: This study included 69 (23 males and 46 females) patients and 82 (22 males and 60 females) healthy controls (HCs). Clinical assessments, including the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Peri-traumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire scores, and morning cortisol levels were evaluated. The morning cortisol levels were compared between PTSD with high dissociation and low dissociation (PTSD-LD) groups. The effect of CTQ subtype on morning cortisol levels was analyzed.
Results: The PTSD with high dissociation group showed significantly lower cortisol levels than that of the PTSD-LD and HC groups. A significant inverse correlation was found between cortisol levels and dissociation. A significant positive correlation was found between dissociation and physical abuse and sexual abuse scores. Morning cortisol levels showed a significant positive correlation with emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and physical neglect, respectively. There was no moderating or mediating effect of CTQ on the relationship between cortisol level and dissociation.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that dissociation is a significant factor related to hypocortisolism in PTSD patients. Additionally, basal morning cortisol levels and dissociation scores were closely associated with childhood trauma.
Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Cortisol; Dissiociation; Hypercortisolism; Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; Post-traumatic stress disorder.