Key result
Higher cumulative trauma exposure is linked to blunted cardiac vagal reactivity during stress anticipation.
Why the study?
While trauma exposure is linked to altered autonomic stress regulation in clinical cohorts, physiological correlates of cumulative trauma exposure in non-clinical samples remain less understood.
Does cumulative trauma exposure alter cardiovascular stress reactivity in healthy adults?
Cross-Sectional (n=61)
No
Does cumulative trauma exposure alter cardiovascular stress reactivity in healthy adults?
Effect estimate: β = 0.22
p-value: p=0.011
Cumulative trauma exposure in healthy adults is associated with altered cardiac autonomic responding during stress anticipation, suggesting subclinical physiological alterations even in the absence of psychopathology.
May signal subclinical autonomic changes post-trauma; leaves open clinical relevance and need for longitudinal validation.
Background: Exposure to traumatic events has been linked to alterations in autonomic stress regulation. While research has primarily focused on clinical populations, less is known about the physiological correlates of cumulative trauma exposure in non-clinical samples.Objective: The present study investigated whether cumulative lifetime exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) is associated with altered cardiovascular stress reactivity in healthy individuals.Methods: Sixty-one participants without indications of PTSD completed a standardised speech task, while heart rate variability (HRV), blood pressure and additional hemodynamic indices were continuously recorded.Results: Higher cumulative trauma exposure was associated with a divergent autonomic response pattern during stress anticipation. Blunted cardiac vagal reactivity (RMSSD) was accompanied by enhanced reactivity in overall autonomic variability (SDNN) and LF-HRV. No associations were found for blood pressure or any other hemodynamic outcome.Conclusion: Findings suggest that cumulative trauma exposure may be associated with altered cardiac autonomic responding during stress anticipation even in the absence of psychopathology. These results highlight the potential utility of subclinical physiological assessment for detecting stress-system alterations in trauma-exposed individuals.
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Schneider et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adults without PTSD (n=61). Cumulative lifetime exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) vs. Lower cumulative trauma exposure was evaluated on Cardiac vagal reactivity (RMSSD) during stress anticipation (β = 0.22, p=0.011). Higher cumulative trauma exposure was associated with blunted cardiac vagal reactivity (RMSSD) and enhanced reactivity in overall autonomic variability (SDNN) and LF-HRV during stress anticipation.
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