The results indicated a relationship and interactions among reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and cortisol patterns found across all four cortisol testings. The relationship between PTSD symptoms and the salivary cortisol response patters were observed at four different times: (1) at awakening; (2) after a high protein meal challenge; (3) over the course of the day; and (4) after taking a low dosage (0.5 mg) of dexamethasone at bedtime--a dexamethasone suppression test (DST). The cortisol patterns found in this study suggest “allostatic load” in which failure to initiate or shut off mediators under conditions of chronic or acute stress leads to hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation. This HPA dysregulation may include overreactivity, exaggerated startle response, sleep disruption, and nightmares. These symptoms lead to a high level of morbidity even after retirement. The findings underscore the importance of future research on the impact of stress on police personnel and other first responder groups. Participants were 92 police officers who were randomly sampled from the entire Buffalo, New York Police Department, which comprised 934 officers at the time of sampling. Participants completed a measure of their psychological symptoms and their cortisol was measured in saliva under the four conditions outlined above using Salivettes to collect their saliva. A baseline saliva sample was also taken from each participant. ANCOVA was used to analyze the relationships between cortisol levels and PTSD symptom categories. Tables, figures, references