Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Oct 2008
Increased acoustic startle responses in IBS patients during abdominal and nonabdominal threat.
Visceral hypersensitivity and symptom severity in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) are both exacerbated by stress. The eye-blink startle response represents a noninvasive measure of central defensive responding. Evidence for central hyperexcitability was studied in IBS patients by examining potentiation of the startle reflex to a nociceptive threat. ⋯ Female IBS patients show increased startle responses to threat of aversive stimulation at both abdominal and nonabdominal sites compared with controls. The data represent the first demonstration of altered threat potentiated startle in a functional pain condition and provide support for the use of these paradigms in further evaluation of affective mechanisms in these disorders.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Oct 2008
Impairment associated with sleep problems in the community: relationship to physical and mental health comorbidity.
To explore the extent to which associations between sleep problems and functional impairment are attributable to comorbid mental and physical health problems. Sleep problems are being increasingly recognized as a source of morbidity and role impairment. Little is known, however, about the extent to which associations between sleep problems and functional impairment are attributable to comorbid mental and physical health problems. ⋯ More than one third of adults in the community report sleep problems. These often co-occur with other physical and mental health problems, and when they do they are generally associated with an increased burden of role disability and functional impairment.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Oct 2008
Type-D personality and cortisol in survivors of acute coronary syndrome.
To test the hypothesis that Type-D personality is associated with elevated cortisol levels in patients 4 months after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ⋯ Type-D personality may be associated with prolonged disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in survivors of acute cardiac events and may contribute to biological responses influencing future cardiac morbidity.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Sep 2008
Persistence of posttraumatic stress symptoms 12 and 36 months after acute coronary syndrome.
To assess the prevalence and predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms in patients at 12 and 36 months post hospital admission for an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). There is increasing recognition that posttraumatic stress may develop in the aftermath of an acute cardiac event. However, there has been little research on the longer-term prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ⋯ Posttraumatic stress symptoms persist for at least 3 years after an acute cardiac event. Early emotional responses are important in predicting longer-term posttraumatic stress. It is important to identify patients at risk for posttraumatic stress as they are more likely to experience reduced quality of life.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Sep 2008
The roles of physiological and subjective stress in the effectiveness of a placebo on experimentally induced pain.
To examine whether reduction of negative emotions and associated autonomic activity could explain placebo analgesia, and to test the effect of experimenter gender on the placebo analgesic response. ⋯ The results indicate that reduced negative emotional activation could be a mechanism in placebo analgesia and that experimenter gender is probably not systematically related to placebo analgesia.