Clinical effectiveness study of a treatment to prepare for trauma-focused evidence-based psychotherapies at a veterans affairs specialty posttraumatic stress disorder clinic.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinics in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) often provide psychoeducational or skill-building groups to prepare veterans for trauma-focused PTSD treatments. However, there has been limited evaluation of the effectiveness of this phase-based approach for treatment engagement and symptom reduction. Participants included 575 veterans seeking treatment for PTSD whose treatment outcomes were assessed in a VA outpatient PTSD clinic staffed by mental health professionals and trainees. Participants completed self-report measures of baseline characteristics and psychiatric symptoms as part of routine PTSD clinic treatment. We tested the association of preparatory group treatment with engagement in and treatment response to subsequent trauma-focused psychotherapies, cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and prolonged exposure therapy (PE), which are designated by VA as evidence-based psychotherapies (EBP). Following participation in preparatory treatments, 94/391 (24%) of veterans engaged in a subsequent trauma-focused EBP (CPT or PE). Relative to patients who had previously completed a preparatory group, patients initiating a trauma-focused EBP without having first attended preparatory PTSD treatment had similar rates of trauma-focused EBP completion and better treatment response, as measured by decreases on the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5; PCL-5), F(1, 3009) = 10.89, p = .001, and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 measure of depressive symptoms F(1, 3688) = 6.74, p = .010. Overall, veterans reported greater symptom reduction when engaging in trauma-focused EBP directly, without having previously attended a preparatory group. These data support veteran engagement in trauma-focused EBPs for PTSD without first being encouraged to complete psychoeducational or skill-building groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Borderline Personality Features as Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation Among Male Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

U.S. veterans are at increased risk for suicide compared to their civilian counterparts and account for approximately 20% of all deaths by suicide. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality features (BPF) have each been associated with increased suicide risk. Additionally, emerging research suggests that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) may be a unique risk factor for suicidal behavior. Archival data from 728 male veterans with a PTSD diagnosis who were receiving care through an outpatient Veterans Health Administration (VHA) specialty PTSD clinic were analyzed. Diagnosis of PTSD was based on a structured clinical interview administered by trained clinicians. A subscale of the Personality Assessment Inventory was used to assess BPF, and NSSI and suicidal ideation (SI) were assessed by self-report. Findings revealed that NSSI (58.8%) and BPF (23.5%) were both relatively common in this sample of male veterans with PTSD. As expected, each condition was associated with significantly increased odds of experiencing SI compared to PTSD alone, odds ratios (ORs) = 1.2-2.6. Moreover, co-occurring PTSD, NSSI, and BPF were associated with significantly increased odds of experiencing SI compared with PTSD, OR = 5.68; comorbid PTSD and NSSI, OR = 2.57; and comorbid PTSD and BPF, OR = 2.13. The present findings provide new insight into the rates of NSSI and BPF among male veterans with PTSD and highlight the potential importance of these factors in suicide risk.

Spanish Abstracts by Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET) Autoagresiones no suicidas y características del Trastorno de Personalidad Limítrofe como Factores de Riesgo para Ideación Suicida entre Veteranos varones con Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático ALNS, TPL E IS ENTRE VETERANOS VARONES CON TEPT Los veteranos estadounidenses tienen un riesgo de suicidio mayor que su contraparte civil, dando cuenta de aproximadamente el 20% de las muertes por suicidio. El Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT) y los síntomas del Trastorno de Personalidad Limítrofe (TPL) han sido asociados individualmente con un aumento del riesgo suicida. Adicionalmente, la investigación emergente sugiere que las autolesiones no suicidas (ALNS) pueden ser un factor de riesgo único para la conducta suicida. Se analizaron datos de archivo de 728 veteranos varones con diagnóstico de TEPT que estaban recibiendo atención a través de una clínica ambulatoria especializada en TEPT de la Administración de Salud de Veteranos (VHA, por sus siglas en inglés). El diagnóstico de TEPT se basó en una entrevista clínica estructurada administrada por clínicos entrenados. Se usó una subescala del Inventario de Evaluación de la Personalidad para evaluar TPL, y las ALNS e Ideación Suicida (IS) fueron evaluadas por auto-reporte. Los hallazgos revelaron que las ALNS (58.8%) y las características de TPL (23.5%) fueron ambas relativamente comunes en esta muestra de varones veteranos con TEPT. Como era esperado, cada condición se asoció con una probabilidad significativamente aumentada de experimentar IS comparado al TEPT solo, odds ratio (ORs) = 1.2-2.6. Más aún, la co-ocurrencia de TEPT, ALNS y TPL se asoció a una probabilidad significativamente mayor de experimentar IS comparado con TEPT, OR = 5.68; TEPT y ALNS comórbidos, OR=2.57; y TEPT comórbido con TPL, OR=2.13. Los presentes hallazgos proveen una nueva visión en las tasas de ALNS y características de TPL entre los varones veteranos con TEPT y destacan la potencial importancia de estos factores en el riesgo de suicidio.

Sex differences in visuospatial abilities persist during induced hypogonadism.

BACKGROUND: Despite well-established sex differences in the performance on tests of several cognitive domains (e.g., visuospatial ability), few studies in humans have evaluated if these sex differences are evident both in the presence of circulating sex hormones and during sex steroid hormonal suppression. Sex differences identified in the relative absence of circulating levels of estradiol and testosterone suggest that differences in brain structure or function exist independent of current hormonal environment and are more likely a reflection of differing developmental exposures and/or genetic substrates. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate cognitive performance in healthy eugonadal men and women before and again during GnRH agonist-induced hypogonadism. METHODS: Men (n=16) and women (n=15) without medical or psychiatric illness were matched for IQ. Cognitive tests were performed at baseline (when eugonadal) and after 6-8 weeks of GnRH agonist-induced gonadal suppression. The test batteries included measures of verbal and spatial memory, spatial ability, verbal fluency, motor speed/dexterity, and attention/concentration. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures models. RESULTS: During both eugonadism and hypogonadism, men performed significantly better than women on several measures of visuospatial performance including mental rotation, line orientation, Money Road Map, Porteus maze, and complex figure drawing. Although some test performances showed an effect of hormone treatment, the majority of these differences reflected an improved performance during hypogonadism compared with baseline (and probably reflected practice effects). CONCLUSION: The well-documented male advantage in visuospatial performance, which we observed during eugonadal conditions, was maintained in the context of short-term suppression of gonadal function in both men and women. These findings suggest that, in humans, sex differences in visuospatial performance are not merely dependent on differences in the current circulating sex steroid environment. Thus sex differences in visuospatial performance in adulthood could reflect early developmental effects of sex steroid exposure or other environmental exposures differing across the sexes as our data confirm that these differences are independent of circulating estradiol or testosterone levels in men and women.

Mother-daughter communication about breast cancer risk: interpersonal and biological stress processes.

Women with a personal or maternal history of breast cancer experience psychological stress in relation to breast cancer risk, and adolescent and young adult daughters are particularly at risk for experiencing stress related to their mothers' history of breast cancer. The current study examined interpersonal and biological stress responses during a laboratory-based communication task about breast cancer risk in 32 mother-daughter dyads and explores whether certain communication styles between mothers and daughters are associated with increased stress reactivity during the task. Five saliva samples were collected from each participant to determine cortisol baseline levels, reactivity to, and recovery from the task. Negative maternal communication was associated with higher cortisol levels in daughters. In addition, maternal sadness was correlated with lower levels of daughters' cortisol at all time points with the exception of baseline measures. Implications for understanding the psychobiology of stress in women at risk for breast cancer are highlighted.

Cognitive performance in healthy women during induced hypogonadism and ovarian steroid addback.

Gynecology clinic-based studies have consistently demonstrated that induced hypogonadism is accompanied by a decline in cognitive test performance. However, a recent study in healthy asymptomatic controls observed that neither induced hypogonadism nor estradiol replacement influenced cognitive performance. Thus, the effects of induced hypogonadism on cognition might not be uniformly experienced across individual women. Moreover, discrepancies in the effects of hypogonadism on cognition also could suggest the existence of specific risk phenotypes that predict a woman's symptomatic experience during menopause. In this study, we examined the effects of induced hypogonadism and ovarian steroid replacement on cognitive performance in healthy premenopausal women. Ovarian suppression was induced with a GnRH agonist (Lupron) and then physiologic levels of estradiol and progesterone were reintroduced in 23 women. Cognitive tests were administered during each hormone condition. To evaluate possible practice effects arising during repeated testing, an identical battery of tests was administered at the same time intervals in 11 untreated women. With the exception of an improved performance on mental rotation during estradiol, we observed no significant effects of estradiol or progesterone on measures of attention, concentration, or memory compared with hypogonadism. In contrast to studies in which a decline in cognitive performance was observed in women receiving ovarian suppression therapy for an underlying gynecologic condition, we confirm a prior report demonstrating that short-term changes in gonadal steroids have a limited effect on cognition in young, healthy women. Differences in the clinical characteristics of the women receiving GnRH agonists could predict a risk for ovarian steroid-related changes in cognitive performance during induced, and possibly, natural menopause.

Nightmare reduction in a Vietnam veteran using imagery rehearsal therapy.

Following exposure to traumatic events, approximately 19% of combat veterans develop posttraumatic stress disorder. One of the main symptoms of this mental illness is reexperiencing the trauma, which is commonly expressed in the form of chronic trauma-related nightmares. In these patients, nightmares can fragment sleep, decrease sleep quality, and even cause fear about going to sleep. One promising psychological treatment for chronic nightmares is imagery rehearsal therapy. Imagery rehearsal therapy presumes that nightmares are a learned behavior and that activating the visual imagery system may facilitate emotional processing of the trauma. This treatment involves deliberately rewriting a nightmare and mentally rehearsing images from the newly rescripted scenario while awake. Imagery rehearsal therapy has been found to reduce nightmares and associated distress. We present a case study demonstrating the use of imagery rehearsal therapy in a Vietnam-era veteran with posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic nightmares. Nightmares were considerably reduced and the quality of sleep greatly improved after treatment.

Monoamines and neurosteroids in sexual function during induced hypogonadism in healthy men.

CONTEXT: Although the behavioral effects of high-dose androgen administration may involve alterations in serotonergic activity, few studies have investigated the impact of androgen withdrawal on the central nervous system in humans. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of pharmacologically induced hypogonadism on several cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) systems that could mediate the behavioral concomitants of hypogonadism. DESIGN: Double-blind assessment of the effects of the short-term induction of hypogonadism and subsequent replacement with testosterone and placebo in a crossover design. SETTING: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve healthy male volunteers. INTERVENTIONS: We administered the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist leuprolide acetate (7.5 mg intramuscularly every 4 weeks) to the healthy male volunteers, creating a hypogonadal state, and then either replaced testosterone (200 mg intramuscularly) or administered a placebo every 2 weeks for 1 month. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mood and behavioral symptoms were monitored with daily self-ratings, and lumbar punctures were performed during both hypogonadal (placebo) and testosterone-replaced conditions for CSF levels of steroids and monoamine metabolites. RESULTS: The CSF testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and androsterone levels were significantly lower during hypogonadism (P=.002, .04, and .046, respectively), but no significant changes were observed in CSF measures of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, homovanillic acid, dehydroepiandrosterone, or pregnenolone. Decreased sexual interest was observed during the hypogonadal state compared with both baseline and testosterone replacement (P=.009) and correlated significantly with CSF measures of androsterone during both hypogonadism and testosterone replacement (r = -0.76 and -0.81, respectively; P<.01). Moreover, the change in severity of decreased sexual interest correlated significantly with the change in CSF androsterone levels between testosterone replacement and hypogonadism (r = -0.68; P<.05). The CSF 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acid levels did not correlate significantly with any behavioral or CSF measure. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the neurosteroid androsterone contributes to the regulation of sexual function in men.

The effects of pharmacologically induced hypogonadism on mood in healthy men.

BACKGROUND: The effects of declining androgen secretion on mood regulation and the potential psychotropic efficacy of androgen replacement in men are largely undetermined. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects on mood of the acute suppression of testosterone secretion. DESIGN: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover (self-as-own-control) study. SETTING: An ambulatory care clinic in a research hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one healthy adult men with no history of psychiatric illness or substance or anabolic steroid abuse. INTERVENTIONS: Men received depot leuprolide acetate (Lupron, 7.5 mg intramuscularly) every 4 weeks for 3 months. After the first month of Lupron alone, all men received (in addition to Lupron) testosterone enanthate (200 mg intramuscular) or placebo (sesame oil as color-matched vehicle) every 2 weeks for 1 month each in a crossover design. The order of administration of testosterone and placebo was randomly assigned and counterbalanced. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mood and behavior rating scores (self-report and rater administered). RESULTS: With the exceptions of hot flushes, libido, and the feeling of being emotionally charged, none of the symptoms measured showed a significant difference across eugonadal, Lupron plus placebo, and Lupron plus testosterone conditions. Despite the absence of a uniform effect of Lupron plus placebo on mood, 3 men experienced clinically relevant mood symptoms during this induced hypogonadal condition. High baseline levels of sexual functioning predicted the greatest decline in sexual function during Lupron plus placebo. CONCLUSIONS: These data, the first to describe the effects on mood of induced hypogonadism in healthy young men, suggest that short-term hypogonadism is sufficient to precipitate depressive symptoms in only a small minority of younger men. The predictors of this susceptibility remain to be determined.