Longitudinal Associations Between Peritraumatic Oestradiol and Fear Responding in Women and Men
Author Department
Emergency Medicine
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
4-2025
Abstract
PTSD is more prevalent in women than men and associated with autonomic dysfunction. Higher oestradiol levels have been associated with decreased PTSD severity, however, the impact of oestradiol on autonomic function is not well characterised. We examined associations among peritraumatic oestradiol levels and autonomic function in the multi-site AURORA study. Participants (n = 283, 69.6% female) were recruited from the emergency department (ED) following trauma exposure. Skin conductance (SC) was measured during trauma recall at the ED. Oestradiol was assayed from blood collected at ED, 2-week and 6-month. Fear conditioning, including fear potentiated startle (FPS), was completed at 2-week and 6-month. In women, ED oestradiol was significantly positively associated with ED SC and FPS at 6-month. In men, significant negative correlations between ED oestradiol and SC were found. Among women in the study, peritraumatic oestradiol was positively associated with fear responding 6-month. Findings suggest that the protective effects of oestradiol on PTSD may depend on other factors, such as time since trauma. Additional research is needed to elucidate how peritraumatic oestradiol and autonomic function may interact to confer risk for PTSD.
Keywords: PTSD; autonomic function; fear conditioning; gender; trauma.
Recommended Citation
Ellis RA, Webber TK, Noble NC, Linnstaedt SD, Hinrichs R, Wiltshire C, Reda MH, Davie W, House SL, Beaudoin FL, An X, Neylan TC, Clifford GD, Germine LT, Rauch SL, Haran JP, Storrow AB, Lewandowski C, Musey PI Jr, Hendry PL, Sheikh S, Punches BE, Pascual JL, Seamon MJ, Datner EM, Pearson C, Peak DA, Domeier RM, Rathlev NK, O'Neil BJ, Sergot P, Sanchez LD, Bruce SE, Joormann J, Kessler RC, Ressler KJ, Koenen KC, McLean SA, Stevens JS, Jovanovic T, Seligowski AV. Longitudinal Associations Between Peritraumatic Oestradiol and Fear Responding in Women and Men. Stress Health. 2025 Apr;41(2):e3522. doi: 10.1002/smi.3522.
PMID
40119846