Key result
Higher estradiol links to lower PWV in trauma-exposed women without PTSD, but not with PTSD.
Why the study?
Are serum estradiol levels differentially associated with arterial stiffness in trauma-exposed premenopausal women with and without PTSD?
Cross-Sectional (n=70)
No
Are serum estradiol levels differentially associated with arterial stiffness in trauma-exposed premenopausal women with and without PTSD?
A diagnosis of PTSD may disrupt the normal vasoprotective effects of estradiol in premenopausal women, potentially increasing cardiovascular disease risk.
PTSD may blunt estradiol's association with lower arterial stiffness; hypothesis-generating for elevated CVD risk, needs longitudinal confirmation.
In trauma-exposed premenopausal women, we found that serum estradiol (E2) was a predictor of pulse wave velocity (PWV) only in the absence of a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, even after accounting for the phase of the menstrual cycle, age, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, and PTSD symptom severity. Moreover, E2 levels were lower in women with PTSD than in those without PTSD. We collected E2 and PWV during two separate visits and controlled for the menstrual cycle phase in our analyses.
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Corbin et al. (2025) conducted a cross-sectional in Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (n=70). Serum estradiol (E2) levels vs. Women without PTSD was evaluated on Arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV) (β= -0.461 in PTSD- group; β= 0.559 in PTSD+ group, p=0.020 for PTSD-). Serum estradiol was a significant negative predictor of pulse wave velocity only in trauma-exposed women without PTSD (p=0.020), a relationship that was absent in those with PTSD.
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