Association between different dimensions of anger and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in at-risk cardiovascular patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Psychiatry

Julia Vogel¹  Tienush Rassaf¹  Johannes Siebermair²  Jan Philipp Krüger³  Werner Wenzel³  Ulrich Wesemann⁴  Mihailo Nesic⁴  Ali Sahebi⁵ 

[1]Department of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, West German Heart and Vascular Center Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Duisberg, Germany

[2]Department of Cardiology and Vascular Medicine, West German Heart and Vascular Center Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Duisberg, Germany

[3]Department of Cardiology, Krankenhaus Göttlicher Heiland GmbH, Vienna, Austria

[4]Department of Microbiology, Bundeswehr Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany

[5]Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology, Bundeswehr Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany

[6]Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

[7]Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

关键词: PTSD;    anger;    COVID-19;    cardiology;    hospital;    pandemics;    cardiovascular diseases;    heart diseases;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1228192

 received in 2023-05-24, accepted in 2023-09-07,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionThe common connecting factor between PTSD and cardiovascular diseases lies in the disruption of the stress processing system. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in stress levels worldwide. Due to the life-threatening situation of affected risk patients, this also led to the accumulation of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). The influence of anger on cardiovascular diseases has hardly been investigated so far. The focus of this study is on anger regulation in cardiovascular risk patients. The COVID-19 pandemic is considered as an additional stressor in this study, but not as a separate entity. The hypothesis is that individuals with inward anger are more prone to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).MethodsAs part of the routine examination, all patients who were hospitalized between January 1st, 2021 and May 31st, 2022 with high-risk cardiovascular diseases were included. A total of N = 153 (84.1%) subjects participated in the study. On admission, anger (STAXI-2) and PTSD (PCL-5) were assessed using questionnaires. The relationship between different domains of anger and PTSS was examined.ResultsInwardly directed anger was more pronounced in this population than in a standard sample (+1 SD) and had a significant impact on the presence of PTSD (B = −0.72, p < 0.001). Additionally, correlations were found between inward-directed anger and PTSD, as well as all other anger expressions studied and the PTSD total score.DiscussionIt can be assumed that anger and its regulation are relevant factors for both cardiac diseases and PTSD. The study results can be used for prevention, rehabilitation and therapeutic measures. However, the impact of inner anger on PTSD is theoretical and based on statistical testing. A confirmatory longitudinal study is needed to substantiate these results.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Nesic, Vogel, Krüger, Wenzel, Sahebi, Rassaf, Siebermair and Wesemann.