People With Less Reaction to Stress Tasks Are More Likely to Show PTSD Signs After COVID-19

A recent study came as a surprise to researchers after they found that people who did not experience a massive heart rate response to a stress task were likely to suffer more COVID-19-related distress.

In previous research, individuals experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD are more responsive to stress tests.

However, according to researchers, only a few studies have investigated reactions of heart rates to acute stress prior to a traumatic event's onset.

According to Annie Ginty, Ph.D., the principal investigator and Baylor University psychology and neuroscience assistant professor, reduced biological arousal, the manner the body reacts in terms of its exposure to something surprising and stressful before a worldwide pandemic may forecast symptoms of PTSD linked to the event.

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Biological Responses

Baylor Behavioral Medicine Lab research coordinator, Danielle Young, Psy.D., said that biological responses are gauged by blood pressure and heart rate.

The study, which was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, reportedly grew out of an ongoing research of Baylon University undergraduate students.

Ginty explained that the study also showed that some college students were suffering from pandemic-related distress in its earliest stages, even when social distancing was just starting.

The first phase of the study was conducted last February in Central Texas. Here, the researchers looked into the resting heart rate and blood pressure of 120 respondents during a standard acute psychological stress test.

They then asked the participants to do mental math instead of writing down the numbers or using a calculator, and give their scores by vocal resposne.

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The Stress Task

The said stress task, according to Ginty, is devised to increase stress levels, which include requirements of cognitive effort, social evaluation, self-evaluation, and competition.

The task considerably intensifies heart rate and stress feeling, added Ginty.

After the onset of the pandemic, the study authors launched the study's second phase from March 26 to April 5, sending COVID-19-related questionnaire to participants for a follow-up.

The respondents were located in 22 states following an early closure of campuses because of the pandemic. When asked, no one among them had tested positive for the virus, and 87.5 were found to be residing in a city or state with a shelter-in-place order.

Part of the questionnaire are standard items utilized to gauge the PTSD symptoms of intrusion or dreaming about the event and finding it hard to stay asleep, irritability and having trouble focusing or hyperarousal, and trying to think or talk about the event or avoidance, during the last seven days before responding to the questionnaire.

Previous research has also presented that higher biological arousal levels may be linked to developing symptoms of PSTD.

The study used passive tasks, like hearing loud noise bursts, reducing biological reactions to stress tasks that necessitate participants to get involved in the task actively may be a distinctive biomarker for mental health results.

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