title: Association between exercise and posttraumatic stress symptoms among trauma-exposed adults.
abstract: The present investigation examined associations between intensities of exercise involvement and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptom cluster severity (reexperiencing, avoidance/numbing, and hyperarousal). The sample was comprised of 108 adults (54.6% women; M age = 23.9, SD = 10.22, range = 18-62), who endorsed exposure to a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth edition, Text Revision) posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A traumatic life event but did not meet criteria for any current Axis I psychopathology. After controlling for gender and lifetime number of trauma exposure types experienced, results indicated that vigorous-intensity exercise, but not light- or moderate-intensity exercise, was significantly inversely associated with hyperarousal symptom cluster severity. This study adds to the scarce, yet growing, body of exercise-PTS literature-by illuminating the inverse associations of vigorous-intensity exercise, specifically, and PTS hyperarousal symptom severity among trauma-exposed individuals.
authors.affiliation: Research Service, Department of Psychiatry, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Harte
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA anka.a.vujanovic@uth.tmc.edu.
authors.forename: Anka A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Vujanovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Carrie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Potter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D044469:Racial Groups; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: PTSD; exercise; physical activity; posttraumatic stress; trauma