Increased serum cortisol and growth hormone levels in earthquake survivors with PTSD or subclinical PTSD

Alteration of neuroendocrine systems has been demonstrated to be involved in the pathology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Three months after an earthquake in Northern China, cortisol, growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) levels were assessed in 34 earthquake survivors with PTSD (according to DSM-IV criteria), 30 earthquake survivors with subclinical PTSD and 34 normal controls. Only earthquake survivors diagnosed with PTSD had significantly higher serum GH levels. Also, we found that earthquake survivors (either with PTSD or subclinical PTSD) had significantly higher serum cortisol levels. We concluded that PTSD might be associated with an increased level of serum GH and traumatic survivors might be associated with a higher level of serum cortisol.