摘要:

ObjectiveSphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) is a biliary disorder with a recognized pathophysiology and demonstrated surgical treatment. We sought to examine whether women with SOD were overrepresented on measures of somatization, sexual and physical abuse, socially compliant attitudes, and familial psychiatric illness.MethodWe matched 33 women with SOD to 33 normal controls by age, sex, and race, and, with a case-controlled cross-sectional questionnaire, compared the groups on the study variables. Statistics included a chi squared for categorical variables, t tests for scores of somatization and attitudes of social desirability, and Pearson correlation coefficients for post hoc associations of variables. Bonferroni corrections were used with chi squared values to reduce capitalization by chance.ResultsSOD patients exhibited excessive nongastroenterological somatic complaints compared with controls (p<.0001). There was a statistical increase in reports of childhood sexual, but not physical, abuse in the SOD women (p<.02) compared with controls. The severity of the abuse correlated strongly with the severity of somatic complaints. There were no differences in social desirability attitudes or family psychiatric histories of the two groups.ConclusionsWe conclude that SOD is associated with a high degree of somatization in adulthood, and a mean rate more than four times that of controls in self-reports of sexual abuse in childhood. The severity of childhood sexual abuse is correlated with the severity of somatization in later life. A psychological model for this disorder is suggested by the data. Increased psychiatric attention is indicated in the treatment of women with this disorder.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveThe present study examined the effects of working at the crash site of USAir Flight 427 on psychological, cardiovascular, and immunological sequelae of stress within 2 months of the recovery work and again 6 months after the crash.MethodA total of 159 workers at the crash site and 41 controls were examined within 2 months of the crash and again 6 months after the crash. Subjects were initially grouped according to whether they had contact with human remains. For a finer-grained analysis of exposure to bodies, subjects were also grouped by degree of exposure, determined by the area in which the workers were stationed. Dependent measures included intrusive thoughts, coping styles, and symptom reporting, as well as heart rate and blood pressure, and NK cell number and activity.ResultsWorkers exposed to body parts at the actual crash site, and those who were exposed to remains without expecting to be, exhibited more symptoms of stress than workers who saw bodies and body parts at the morgue and those who did not see human remains. Non-morgue workers who were exposed to bodies or body parts had the highest levels of intrusive thoughts at both time points, and the highest NK cell activity at Time 1. NK activity in this group decreased to levels comparable with other groups at Time 2.ConclusionsIncreased NK activity is unusual in chronic stress situations, and may be because of acute stress experienced as a result of being asked to talk and think about the crash. The finding that the more one was exposed to human remains the less distress he or she reported is discussed in terms of adaptation, expectancy, and control.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to determine how testosterone levels, both alone and interacting with age, were associated with criminal behavior and institutional behavior among female prison inmates.MethodSubjects were 87 female inmates in a maximum security state prison. Criminal behavior was scored from court records. Institutional behavior was scored from prison records and interviews with staff members. Testosterone levels were scored from radioimmunoassay of saliva samples.ResultsProduct-moment correlations revealed first-order relationships among age, testosterone, criminal behavior, and institutional behavior. Structural Equation analysissuggested a causal model in which age leads to lower testosterone, which in turn leads to less violent crime and less aggressive dominance in prison.ConclusionTestosterone is related to criminal violence and aggressive dominance in prison among women, as has been reported among men. Changes in these behaviors with age are in part explained by a decline in testosterone levels.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveWe examined the relationship between hostility and mononuclear leukocyte (MNL) beta-adrenergic receptor function in a sample of young healthy males.MethodThirty subjects were selected for having scored above 20 (N = 11) and below 14 (N = 19) on the Cook-Medley Hostility (Ho) scale. MNL beta-adrenergic receptor function was characterized in terms of receptor density (Bmax) and ligand-binding affinity (Kd) in homogenized cells, and intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) responses to saline, isoproterenol, and forskolin in whole cells. Subjects also completed the Multidimensional Anger Inventory (MAI), which assesses dimensions of anger.ResultsRelative to men with low Ho scores, men with Ho scores above 20 showed lower receptor number and greater forskolin-stimulated cAMP. Moreover, high hostile men reported a greater frequency of anger, longer duration of anger, more frequent brooding, and a hostile outlook.ConclusionsThese data indicate that adrenergic receptor down-regulation is associated with hostility. This association may be linked to hostile persons' propensity for excessive and prolonged neuroendocrine responses to either psychological stressors or the experience of chronic stress associated with frequent and prolonged bouts of anger.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveDoes background stress heighten or dampen children's cardiovascular responses to acute stress?MethodTo address this question, the cardiovascular responses to four acute laboratory stressors of 150 children and adolescents were evaluated according to their self-reported background stress level. Background stress was determined during a standardized interview and was a priori classified according to its importance, frequency, and whether it was ongoing or resolved.ResultsResults showed that children and adolescents who reported important stressors or stressors that were ongoing and frequent exhibited a larger increase in diastolic blood pressure and total peripheral resistance during all four laboratory stressors than their low stress counterparts. Additional analysis showed that the results could not be accounted for by sociodemographic variables or by the personality traits measured in this study.ConclusionsResults suggest the importance of measuring background stress in understanding an individual's acute stress response.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveThis study examined the effects of ACTH 4-10, a fragment of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) with known central nervous system (CNS) activity, on the dimensional complexity of the ongoing electroencepha-lographic (EEG) activity. Stressful stimuli cause ACTH to be released from the pituitary, and as a neuropeptide ACTH may concurrently exert adaptive influences on the brain's processing of these stimuli. Previous studies have indicated an impairing influence of ACTH on selective attention.MethodsDimensional complexity of the EEG, which indexes the brain's way of stimulus processing, was evaluated while subjects performed tasks with different attention demands. Sixteen healthy men (23 to 33 years) were tested once after placebo and another time after administration of ACTH 4-10 (1.25 mg intravenously (IV), 30 minutes before testing). The EEG was recorded while subjects were presented with a dichotic listening task (consisting of the concurrent presentation of tone pips to the left and right ear). Subjects either a) listened to pips in both ears (divided attention), or b) listened selectively to pips in one ear (selective attention), or c) ignored all pips.ResultsDimensional complexity of the EEG was higher during divided than selective attention. ACTH significantly increased the EEG complexity during selective attention, in particular over the midfrontal cortex (Fz, Cz).ConclusionsThe effects support the view of a de-focusing action of ACTH during selective attention that could serve to improve the organism's adaptation to stress stimuli.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectivePatients experiencing temporomandibular disorders (TMD) show greater sensitivity to painful stimuli than age- and gender-matched control subjects. This enhanced pain sensitivity may result, at least in part, from an alteration in pain regulatory systems that are influenced by resting arterial blood pressure. In this study, we examined the relationship between resting systolic blood pressure and pain perception in 64 female TMD and 23 age-matched pain-free female subjects.MethodResting arterial blood pressure and measures of thermal and ischemic pain threshold and tolerance were determined for each participant. Subjective ratings of thermal pain evoked by suprathreshold noxious thermal stimuli (45-49[degree sign]C) using a magnitude matching procedure were also obtained for both groups.ResultsTMD patients had lower thermal and ischemic pain thresholds and tolerances than pain-free subjects (ps<.05). Both groups provided equivalent intensity ratings to suprathreshold noxious thermal stimuli. A median split of each group based on resting systolic blood pressure revealed an influence of blood pressure on both thermal and ischemic pain perception for the Pain-Free group. The Pain-Free high resting blood pressure subgroup had higher thermal pain tolerances, higher ischemic pain thresholds, and provided lower magnitude estimates of the intensity of graded heat pulses compared with the Pain-Free low blood pressure subgroup. A trend toward a significant effect of blood pressure level on ischemic pain tolerance was also observed for the Pain-Free group. In contrast to the Pain-Free group, blood pressure level did not influence ischemic or thermal pain perception for TMD patients. Similar to the lack of effect of resting blood pressure on experimental pain perception in TMD patients, resting blood pressure was not related to measures of clinical orofacial pain in TMD patients.ConclusionsThese findings confirm our previous findings that TMD patients are more sensitive to noxious stimuli and suggest that painful TMD may result, at least in part, from an impairment in central pain regulatory systems that are influenced by resting arterial blood pressure.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

Objective and MethodFindings from both animal and human research suggest that pain sensitivity changes across the menstrual cycle; however, among humans the nature of these menstrual cycle effects remains unclear. The present study used a repeated-measures design to evaluate changes in thermal and ischemic pain responses during three phases of the menstrual cycle, midfollicular (postmenstrual), ovulatory, and mid-to-late luteal (premenstrual), in 11 healthy women. The cycle phase during which subjects began their participation was determined randomly. Plasma levels of estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and beta-endorphin were determined at each experimental session. Participants also completed a daily diary of physical and emotional symptoms for two complete menstrual cycles before the experimental sessions.ResultsThe results indicated that women showed less ischemic pain sensitivity during the midfollicular compared with the ovulatory and mid-to-late luteal phases, but thermal pain responses did not vary significantly across menstrual cycle phases. Physical and emotional symptoms were minimal and did not change significantly across the menstrual cycle.ConclusionsThese findings indicate greater ischemic but not thermal pain sensitivity among women after the midcycle LH surge. The practical relevance and potential mechanisms of these findings are discussed.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveSeveral studies have reported an inverse relationship between cholesterol levels and death from violent causes, including suicide. Because depression and depressive symptoms are associated with suicide and trauma, the relation between cholesterol and depressive symptoms is of interest. The objective of the present study was to examine this relationship in a group of healthy women. The second main objective of the study was to investigate the association between cholesterol and other psychosocial factors (social support, vital exhaustion, and stressful life-events), which are known to be related to depression.MethodThe study group consisted of 300 healthy women (aged 31 to 65 years) who were representative of women living in the greater Stockholm area. Depressive symptoms were measured by a nine-item questionnaire derived from Pearlin. For the measurement of social support a modified version of the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction was used. Health behaviors were measured by means of standard questionnaires. Lipids were analyzed by enzymatic and immunoturbidometric methods.ResultsWomen with a low serum cholesterol, defined as the lowest tenth of the cholesterol distribution (<or=to 4.7 mmol/l), reported significantly more depressive symptoms. In addition, depressive symptoms showed a significant inverse linear association with high-density lipoprotein (HDL). In multivariate models, which adjusted for smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise habits, body-mass index, waist-hip ratio, menopausal status, age, and educational level, these associations remained significant. In addition, when analyzed in relation to other psychosocial factors, low cholesterol was found to be strongly associated with lack of social support. This association was not explained by depressive symptoms.ConclusionsLow cholesterol levels in middle-aged healthy Swedish women were associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms and with lack of social support. These findings may constitute a possible mechanism for the association found between low cholesterol and increased mortality, particularly suicide.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID

摘要:

ObjectiveIt has been reported that sleep deprivation may enhance interleukin (IL)-1 beta production of healthy subjects. Furthermore, patients with acute psychoses have been reported to exhibit higher levels of IL-1 beta than healthy controls. The present study examined polysomnographic sleep and morning IL-1 beta plasma values in 20 drug-free patients with acute nonaffective psychoses.MethodsTen patients with DSM-III diagnosis of schizophrenia, five with delusional disorder, and five with atypical psychosis underwent polysomnographic sleep registrations and their morning blood levels of IL-1 beta were measured.ResultsIL-1 beta values correlated negatively with the length of the sleep period (p = 0.010) and the relative time of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (p = 0.038), and positively with REM latency (p = 0.043).ConclusionsIt is concluded that reduced sleep, possibly especially reduced REM sleep, may be a reason for increased morning IL-1 beta values in these patients. Additional studies on IL-1 beta in psychiatric patients should consider the possibility of sleep disturbances as a possible explanation for deviations in IL-1 beta levels.

ISSN:0033-3174    

出版商:OVID    

年代:1997

数据来源: OVID