Anxiety Mood.  2022 Oct;18(2):39-47. 10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.2.001.

Effects of Occupational Trauma Exposure on Brain Functional Connectivity in Firefighters With Subclinical Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

• Heo Y
• Bang M
• Lee SH
• Lee KS

• KMID: 2534828
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24986/anxmod.2022.18.2.001

Abstract

Objective
: This study investigated brain functional connectivity in male firefighters who showed subclini-cal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
Methods
: We compared the data of 17 firefighters who were not diagnosed with PTSD and 18 healthy con-trols who had no trauma exposure. The following instruments were applied to assess psychiatric symptoms: Korean version of the Post-traumatic stress disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5-K), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). For all subjects, functional magnetic resonance imaging was per-formed, and functional connectivity was compared between the two groups (family-wise error-corrected p<0.05).Additionally, correlations between psychiatric symptoms and functional connectivity were explored.
Results
: The following connectivity was higher than that of healthy controls: 1) the central opercular cortex-superior temporal gyrus, 2) planum polare-parahippocampal gyrus, 3) angular gyrus-amygdala, and 4) temporal fusiform cortex-parahippocampal gyrus. The functional connectivity of 1) the lateral occipital cortex-inferior temporal gyrus, 2) superior parietal lobule-caudate, and 3) middle temporal gyrus-thalamus were lower in firefighters. In firefighters, the connectivity of the planum polare-parahippocampal gyrus showed a negative correlation with the severity of arousal symptoms (rho=-0.586, p=0.013). The connectivity of the middle temporal gyrus-thalamus showed a positive correlation with the severity of intrusion (rho=0.552, p=0.022) and arousal symptoms (rho=0.619, p=0.008). The connectivity of the temporal fusiform cortex-parahippocampal gyrus was negatively correlated with intrusion (rho=-0.491, p=0.045) and arousal (rho=-0.579, p=0.015).
Conclusion
: Our results indicate that the brain functional connectivity is associated with occupational trauma exposure in firefighters without PTSD. Therefore, this study provides evidence that close monitoring and early intervention are important for firefighters with traumatic experience even at a subthreshold level.

Keyword

Post-traumatic stress disorder; Fire fighters; Functional magnetic resonance imaging.