Table 1 Characteristics of the investigated sample at baseline (upper rows), change in clinical questionnaires across groups and time, rating of the experimental stimuli across groups and time.
From: Effects of stress on neural processing of combat-related stimuli in deployed soldiers: an fMRI study
Stress group (n = 104) | Control group (n = 36) | Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baseline | Follow-up | Baseline | Follow-up | Baseline | Group x time1 | |
Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | test- and p-value | F- and p-value | |
Baseline characteristics | ||||||
Age (years) | 32.7 (8.3) | 29.6 (6.3) | T = 2.07; p = 0.04* | |||
Sex (m/f) | 97/7 | 32/4 | χ2 = 0.71; p = 0.473 | |||
Lifetime days of deployment | 195.1 (293.2) | 123 (202.2) | T = 1.37; p = 0.174 | |||
No. of subjects with previous deployments (yes/no) | 59/45 | 16/20 | χ2 = 1.62; p = 0.246 | |||
Digit symbol score | 54.3 (11.4) | 55.6 (12.7) | T = −0.58; p = 0.563 | |||
Psychological questionnaires | ||||||
PTSD symptomatology (PDS Total) | 2.49 (3.4) | 2.33 (3.6) | 3.28 (4.8) | 2.29 (3.9) | T = −0.949; p = 0.345 | F = 1.31; p = 0.255 |
Anxiety (STAI State) | 31.6 (6.3) | 32.3 (7.4) | 34.1 (5.9) | 33.8 (6.5) | T = −2.034; p = 0.044* | F = 0.38; p = 0.54 |
Anxiety Sensitivity (ASI) | 14.4 (7.6) | 13.7 (7.7) | 13.6 (7.7) | 12.9 (6.8) | T = 0.54; p = 0.593 | F = 0.07; p = 0.797 |
Depressive symptoms (BDI-II) | 2.54 (3.1) | 3.24 (4.1) | 3.06 (3.8) | 2.47 (3.9) | T = −0.82; p = 0.413 | F = 5.45; p = 0.021* |
Rumination (RSQ) | 33.6 (7.6) | 33.3 (8.8) | 33.1 (9.4) | 33.6 (8.8) | T = 0.32; p = 0.748 | F = 0.75; p = 0.387 |
Rating of experimental stimuli | ||||||
Combat arousal | 1.95 (0.55) | 1.83 (0.56) | 2.08 (0.59) | 1.92 (0.63) | T = −1.195; p = 0.234 | F = 0.1; p = 0.756 |
Combat valence | 1.61 (0.45) | 1.45 (0.4) | 1.68 (0.44) | 1.55 (0.43) | T = −0.773; p = 0.441 | F = 0.12; p = 0.732 |
IAPS arousal | 2.13 (0.44) | 1.95 (0.5) | 2.1 (0.47) | 1.95 (0.53) | T = 0.369; p = 0.713 | F = 0.25; p = 0.616 |
IAPS valence | 2.2 (0.43) | 2.1 (0.48) | 2.18 (0.49) | 2.14 (0.55) | T = 0.205; p = 0.838 | F = 0.62; p = 0.432 |
