Effect of Symptom Over-Reporting on Heart Rate Variability in Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Physiological assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents an additional avenue for evaluating the severity of PTSD symptoms. We investigated whether the presence of a high number of uncommon symptoms attenuated the relation between self-reported PTSD symptoms and heart rate variability (HRV). Participants were 115 veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom with or without PTSD. Symptom over-report was assessed using the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST). Participants completed the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale and M-FAST and underwent physiological assessment to determine HRV. These data were then entered into a hierarchical linear regression equation to test the moderating effect of over-reporting on the relation between PTSD symptom severity and HRV. The result of this analysis failed to demonstrate a significant moderating effect of over-reporting on the PTSD and HRV relation. HRV was a significant predictor of PTSD symptom severity, and this relation did not differ across levels of over-reporting. These findings did not support the hypothesis that over-reporting would attenuate the relation between PTSD and HRV. Clinical and research implications and directions for future investigation are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• post-traumatic stress disorder
• veterans
• heart rate variability
• over-reporting
• assessment

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Veterans Affairs Clinical Science Research and Development Merit Review (06S-VANIMH-01), South Central Veterans Affairs Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Center for Mental Health Outcomes Research (HFP 09-155), and Center for Translational Neuroscience (GM103425). This work does not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.