Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers

Aardal-Eriksson, ElisabethLinköpings universitet,Klinisk kemi,Hälsouniversitetet (författare)

Background: Rescue service personnel are often exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupation, and higher prevalence rates of psychiatric illness have been found among this group.Methods: In 65 rescue workers, salivary cortisol at 8 am and 10 pm and serum prolactin at 8 am were related to the psychiatric self-rating scale General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) measuring psychiatric health, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS) measuring posttraumatic symptoms.Results: Seventeen percent of the study population scored above the GHQ-28 cut-off limit but none scored beyond the cut-off limit in the IES and PTSS questionnaires. Salivary cortisol concentration at 10 pm correlated with statistical significance to anxiety (p < .005) and depressive symptoms (p < .01) measured with GHQ-28, as well as to posttraumatic symptoms, with avoidance behavior measured with IES (p < .01) and PTSS (p < .005). Two of the rescue workers were followed over time with the same sampling procedure after a major rescue commission.Conclusions: The correlation between evening salivary cortisol and anxiety, depressiveness, and posttraumatic avoidance symptoms indicates that these parameters can be used in screening and follow-up after traumatic stress events.

Eriksson, Thomas,1954-Linköpings universitet,Psykiatri,Hälsouniversitetet(Swepub:liu)thoer41 (författare)
Holm, Ann-CharlotteLinköpings universitet,Klinisk kemi,Hälsouniversitetet (författare)
Lundin, TomDepartment of Psychiatry, Uppsala Academic Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala (TL), Sweden (författare)
Linköpings universitetKlinisk kemi (creator_code:org_t)

Av författaren/redakt...: Aardal-Eriksson, ...; Eriksson, Thomas ...; Holm, Ann-Charlo ...; Lundin, Tom

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