Abstract
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.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 10,
1998
Received in revised form:
October 8,
1998
Received in revised form:
December 8,
1998
Received:
December 3,
1997
Identification
Copyright
© 1999 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
