480 Shared mood and anxiety symptom variance as a prospective predictor of PTSD symptoms

Abstract

Objectives/Goals: Mood and anxiety disorders are a risk factor (Ozer et al., 2003) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma exposure. As such, a latent internalizing dimension may also be a risk factor. We examine how the shared variance between mood and anxiety symptoms (as in HiTOP; Kotov et al., 2021) impacts development of posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, and symptom clusters. Methods/Study Population: Using data from a prior study of individuals who arrived at emergency rooms and were assessed at later time points (AURORA study; McLean et al., 2020), our sample included 1866 participants (1208 females, Mage  =  38.49 years) with available data for the proposed analyses. A latent factor (INTtotal) was operationalized as the shared variance between mood and anxiety symptoms (PROMIS Anxiety and Depression; Cella et al., 2010) as well as PTS symptoms (PCL-5, Weathers et al., 2013). We computed a second internalizing factor excluding PTS symptoms (INTma) to isolate the contribution of baseline affect and anxiety from PTS at baseline. We examined how baseline PTS symptoms, INTtotal, and INTma compare as prospective predictors for PTS symptoms at later time points and how these variables predict individual PTS symptoms. Results/Anticipated Results: Baseline INTma, INTtotal, and PTS symptoms were significant prospective predictors of PTS symptoms across all time points (all with t > 10, p < .005). When focusing on INTma relative to DSM-5 PTSD criterion (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), INTma significantly predicted later symptoms at six months posttrauma pertaining to Criterion D (t  =  18.88, p < .005), negative alterations in cognition and mood, Criterion E (t  =  15.44, p < .005) arousal and reactivity, and Criterion B, intrusion (t  =  15.44, p < .005). INTma significantly predicted symptoms in Criterion C, avoidance, though to a lesser degree (t  =  12.87, p Discussion/Significance of Impact: These findings bolster the utility of examining PTSD risk factors through a transdiagnostic lens. INTma was predictive of later PTS symptoms, independent of baseline PTS. Our analyses reveal clinical implications for the assessment of PTSD, and the tailoring of treatment for patients high in internalizing following trauma exposure.