Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Nov 2009
Comparative StudyPain catastrophizing mediates the relationship between self-reported strenuous exercise involvement and pain ratings: moderating role of anxiety sensitivity.
To investigate the cross-sectional associations among self-reported weekly strenuous exercise bouts, anxiety sensitivity, and their interaction with pain catastrophizing and pain responses to the cold pressor task (CPT) in healthy, ethnically diverse young adults (n = 79). Exercise involvement has been shown to have hypoalgesic effects and cognitive factors may partially explain this effect. Particularly, alterations in pain catastrophizing have been found to mediate the positive pain outcomes of multidisciplinary treatments incorporating exercise. Further, recent evidence suggests that exercise involvement and anxiety sensitivity may act together, as interacting factors, to exert an effect on catastrophizing and pain outcomes; however, further research is needed to clarify the nature of this interaction. ⋯ These findings support that, for pain catastrophizing to mediate the strenuous exercise-pain response relation, individuals must possess a high level of anxiety sensitivity.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Nov 2009
Comparative StudyPreadolescents' somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms are differentially related to cardiac autonomic function and cortisol: the TRAILS study.
To examine in a nonclinical sample of preadolescents the possibility that somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms are differentially related with the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Depression is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Dysregulation of the ANS and the HPA axis have been proposed as underlying mechanisms. Several studies suggest that only a subset of the depression symptoms account for associations with cardiovascular prognosis. ⋯ Somatic and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms differ in their association with both cardiac autonomic and HPA axis function in preadolescents. Particularly, somatic depression symptoms may mark cardiac risk.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Nov 2009
Case ReportsPyrogenic cytokines did not mediate a stress interview-induced hyperthermic response in a patient with psychogenic fever: a case report.
To investigate if pyrogenic cytokines mediated psychological stress-induced hyperthermic response in a patient with psychogenic fever. Despite many case reports on psychogenic fever, the mechanism responsible for how psychological stress increases core body temperature (Tc) in humans is not yet known. ⋯ This case report shows that a stress interview actually increased Tc in a patient with psychogenic fever. This study suggests that, although pyrogenic cytokines are not involved, the stress interview-induced increase in Tc was an active hyperthermia under the control of the brain, as is infection-induced fever.