INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 03 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 09:30 am - 10:40 am Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma \| Neurovascular Final Abstract #30 The Effect of Traumatic Stress on Somatization at Different Stages Following mTBI. Kymberly Henderson-Arredondo, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States Lindsey Hildebrand, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States Alisa Huskey, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States William Killgore, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States Category: Acquired Brain Injury (TBI/Cerebrovascular Injury and Disease - Adult) Keyword 1: traumatic brain injury Objective: Every year about 42 million mild traumatic brain (mTBI) injuries occur worldwide. These injuries are caused by blunt impact or rotational forces to the head that induce physiological disruption of brain function, as evidenced by transient loss of consciousness, memory, changes in mental state or other neurological deficits. While most mTBI cases recover in a matter of days, some individuals may continue to experience prolonged cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Two potential long-term sequelae are traumatic stress and somatization. Traumatic stress may be a result of the incident that caused the mTBI and such stress can exacerbate emotional distress and stress-induced issues like somatization. Here, we hypothesize that those with higher levels of traumatic stress after mTBI would report increased levels of somatization and we explored the potential recovery trajectory of these symptoms. Participants and Methods: For this study, 182 adults (M_age=24.48, SD=6.8) were enrolled and divided into six groups that consists of healthy controls and five different stages of mTBI. Healthy controls (HC) consist of 38 participants and the mTBI group consists of 144 participants at five stages post-mTBI: 2 weeks (N=11) and 1(N=30), 3(N=31), 6 (N=32), and 12 (N=40) months. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) was administered to each participant to assess personality and psychopathology. From this 344-item assessment, two subscales were used to measure somatization (Somatic Complaints-Somatization [SOM-S]) and traumatic stress (Anxiety-Related Disorder Traumatic [ARD-T]). To assess the moderating effect that traumatic stress has on somatization after mTBI at different stages, we conducted a Pearson correlation and a multiple regression. Results: There was a significant association in the mTBI group between traumatic stress and somatization at 2 weeks post injury (r=0.622, p=0.041), 1M (r=0.506, p=0.004), 3M (r=0.602, p<0.001), 6M (r=0.434, p=0.013), but not at 12M (p>.05). There were no significant associations for HCs (p>.05). We conducted a multiple regression; we found our model accounted for 26.5% of the variance in somatization (p<.001) with higher reported traumatic stress (B=0.455, p<0) and greater time since injury (B=0.188, p=0.004) reporting greater somatization. Moderation analysis demonstrated there was no additional effect of mTBI status on traumatic stress (p=.096). Conclusions: Participants without mTBI and those 12 M post mTBI reported substantially less traumatic stress and somatization than those 2W-6M post mTBI. Higher levels of traumatic stress were significantly associated with increased somatization from 2 weeks to 6 months. However, traumatic stress and somatization was not significant based on time since injury. Traumatic stress reported could have been influenced by other factors such as the event that caused the mTBI, the severity of mTBI or traumatic stress pre-mTBI. Future research could focus on how therapies such as Somatic Experiencing may help decrease traumatic stress, somatization and possibly other symptoms such as emotional dysregulation reported after mTBI and how they differ at different stages.

Poster

02/15/2024
09:30 am - 10:40 am
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma | Neurovascular

Final Abstract #30

The Effect of Traumatic Stress on Somatization at Different Stages Following mTBI.

Kymberly Henderson-Arredondo, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
Lindsey Hildebrand, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
Alisa Huskey, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
William Killgore, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States

Category: Acquired Brain Injury (TBI/Cerebrovascular Injury and Disease - Adult)

Keyword 1: traumatic brain injury

Objective:

Every year about 42 million mild traumatic brain (mTBI) injuries occur worldwide. These injuries are caused by blunt impact or rotational forces to the head that induce physiological disruption of brain function, as evidenced by transient loss of consciousness, memory, changes in mental state or other neurological deficits. While most mTBI cases recover in a matter of days, some individuals may continue to experience prolonged cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Two potential long-term sequelae are traumatic stress and somatization. Traumatic stress may be a result of the incident that caused the mTBI and such stress can exacerbate emotional distress and stress-induced issues like somatization. Here, we hypothesize that those with higher levels of traumatic stress after mTBI would report increased levels of somatization and we explored the potential recovery trajectory of these symptoms.

Participants and Methods:

For this study, 182 adults (M_age=24.48, SD=6.8) were enrolled and divided into six groups that consists of healthy controls and five different stages of mTBI. Healthy controls (HC) consist of 38 participants and the mTBI group consists of 144 participants at five stages post-mTBI: 2 weeks (N=11) and 1(N=30), 3(N=31), 6 (N=32), and 12 (N=40) months. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) was administered to each participant to assess personality and psychopathology. From this 344-item assessment, two subscales were used to measure somatization (Somatic Complaints-Somatization [SOM-S]) and traumatic stress (Anxiety-Related Disorder Traumatic [ARD-T]). To assess the moderating effect that traumatic stress has on somatization after mTBI at different stages, we conducted a Pearson correlation and a multiple regression.

Results:

There was a significant association in the mTBI group between traumatic stress and somatization at 2 weeks post injury (r=0.622, p=0.041), 1M (r=0.506, p=0.004), 3M (r=0.602, p<0.001), 6M (r=0.434, p=0.013), but not at 12M (p>.05). There were no significant associations for HCs (p>.05). We conducted a multiple regression; we found our model accounted for 26.5% of the variance in somatization (p<.001) with higher reported traumatic stress (B=0.455, p<0) and greater time since injury (B=0.188, p=0.004) reporting greater somatization. Moderation analysis demonstrated there was no additional effect of mTBI status on traumatic stress (p=.096).

Conclusions:

Participants without mTBI and those 12 M post mTBI reported substantially less traumatic stress and somatization than those 2W-6M post mTBI. Higher levels of traumatic stress were significantly associated with increased somatization from 2 weeks to 6 months. However, traumatic stress and somatization was not significant based on time since injury. Traumatic stress reported could have been influenced by other factors such as the event that caused the mTBI, the severity of mTBI or traumatic stress pre-mTBI. Future research could focus on how therapies such as Somatic Experiencing may help decrease traumatic stress, somatization and possibly other symptoms such as emotional dysregulation reported after mTBI and how they differ at different stages.