title: 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.
authors.affiliation: a Health Services Research & Development , Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System , North Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.|b Department of Psychiatry , University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences , Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.affiliation: c Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System , New Orleans , Louisiana , USA.|d Department of Psychiatry , Tulane University , New Orleans , Louisiana , USA.
authors.forename: Joseph I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Constans
authors.affiliation: e National Center for PTSD , VA Boston Healthcare System , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.|f Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , Massachusetts , USA.
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.affiliation: g National Center for PTSD-Pacific Island , Honolulu , Hawaii , USA.
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Spira
authors.affiliation: h Department of Clinical Psychology , Alliant International University , San Diego , California , USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gevirtz
authors.affiliation: a Health Services Research & Development , Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System , North Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.|b Department of Psychiatry , University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences , Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Timothy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kimbrell
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychiatry , University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences , Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Teresa L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.affiliation: a Health Services Research & Development , Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System , North Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.|b Department of Psychiatry , University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences , Little Rock , Arkansas , USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pyne
mesh_terms: D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D001131:Arkansas; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014728:Veterans
keywords: assessment; heart rate variability; over-reporting; post-traumatic stress disorder; veterans