Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jul 2001
Sex, gender, and blood pressure: contributions to experimental pain report.
The current study investigated whether the relationship between sex and experimental pain report was explained by systolic blood pressure (SBP) at rest or during pain task, by gender-role socialization as assessed by the Bem Sex Role Inventory, or both. The influence of gender-role socialization on pain report is often inferred but rarely studied. ⋯ We suggest that context-specific measures of gender are needed to assess gender-related pain behaviors in specific situations. Results from the current study support our contention that gender is part of sex as commonly measured. Also, blood pressure does not appear to fully account for sex-related differences in pain.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Mar 2001
Comparative StudyEthnic differences in pain tolerance: clinical implications in a chronic pain population.
Although numerous studies have independently examined ethnic differences in clinical and experimental pain, few have investigated differences in both sensitivity to controlled noxious stimuli and clinical pain reports in the same sample. The present experiment examined the effects of ethnicity (African American vs. white) on experimental pain tolerance and adjustment to chronic pain. ⋯ Collectively these findings support previous research revealing ethnic differences in responses to both clinical and experimental pain. Moreover, the present results suggest that enhanced sensitivity to noxious stimuli on the part of African Americans may be associated with ethnic differences in reported clinical pain, although the magnitude of ethnic differences was much greater for ischemic pain tolerance than for clinical pain measures.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jan 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of the effect of exogenous melatonin on delayed sleep phase syndrome.
The effects of exogenous melatonin on sleep, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and alertness were investigated in 22 patients with delayed sleep phase syndrome whose nocturnal sleep was restricted to the interval from 24:00 to 08:00 hours. This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial. Subjects received either placebo or melatonin (5 mg) daily for 4 weeks, underwent a 1-week washout period, and then were given the other treatment for an additional 4 weeks. Patients could take the melatonin between 19:00 and 21:00 hours, which allowed them to select the time they felt to be most beneficial for the phase-setting effects of the medication. ⋯ Melatonin ameliorated some symptoms of delayed sleep phase syndrome, as confirmed by both objective and subjective measures. No adverse effects of melatonin were noted during the 4-week treatment period.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jan 2001
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialPain and emotion: effects of affective picture modulation.
Two experiments examined the impact of viewing unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral photographic slides on cold-pain perception in healthy men and women. In each experiment, participants viewed one of three slide shows (experiment 1 = fear, disgust, or neutral; experiment 2 = erotic, nurturant, or neutral) immediately before a cold-pressor task. Skin conductance and heart rate were recorded during the slide shows, whereas visual analog scale ratings of pain intensity and unpleasantness thresholds and pain tolerance were recorded during the cold-pressor task. ⋯ These results are consistent with a motivational priming model that predicts that unpleasant affective states should enhance pain and that pleasant affective states should attenuate it.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Nov 2000
Relationship of physical symptoms to posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans seeking care for gulf war-related health concerns.
Studies of the relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to physical symptoms in war veterans consistently show a positive relationship. However, traumatic experiences causing PTSD may correlate with other war exposures and medical illnesses potentially accounting for those symptoms. ⋯ PTSD diminishes the general health perceptions of care-seeking Gulf War veterans. Clinicians should carefully consider PTSD when evaluating Gulf War veterans with vague, multiple, or medically unexplained physical symptoms.