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1.
Effects of alternate nostril breathing exercise on cardiac functions in healthy young adults leading a stressful lifestyle.
Jahan, I, Begum, M, Akhter, S, Islam, Z, Haque, M, Jahan, N
Journal of population therapeutics and clinical pharmacology = Journal de la therapeutique des populations et de la pharmacologie clinique. 2020;(2):e68-e77
Abstract
Alternate nostril breathing (ANB) is one of the best and easiest breathing exercises. ANB exercise has beneficial effects on cardiac function in healthy and diseased people. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of ANB exercise on cardiac physiology among healthy medical students. This was a prospective interventional study that was conducted in the Department of Physiology, Chittagong Medical College (CMC), Chattogram, Bangladesh, from July 2017 to June 2018. A total of 100 research participants (RPs) aged 18-20 years, Year-I medical students of CMC, were selected. A simple random sampling method was adopted. The selection was done after the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The age and body mass index (BMI) of the RPs were analogous in both the control and experimental groups. Cardiac parameters, like pulse and blood pressure (BP), were measured. The initial baseline data were recorded for both groups and after 4 weeks. The research respondents of the experimental group performed ANB exercise for 4 weeks. The mean value pulse and BP were significantly (p < 0.001) changed after breathing exercise, compared to the values before the breathing exercise. The results of this study suggest that cardiac function significantly improves after the breathing exercise. Therefore, ANB can be recommended for increasing cardiac efficiency.
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2.
Salivary alpha-amylase, secretory IgA and free cortisol as neurobiological components of the stress response in the acute phase of anorexia nervosa.
Paszynska, E, Dmitrzak-Weglarz, M, Tyszkiewicz-Nwafor, M, Slopien, A
The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry. 2016;(4):266-73
Abstract
Objectives One novel hypothesis of the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa (AN) is the possible role of mental stress in hyperactivity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Two components of stress response - salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) and free cortisol - have been proposed. They can be determined in saliva, which closely reflects their concentrations in plasma. The purpose of this study was to measure salivary free cortisol, sAA and their correlation to secretory IgA (sIgA) of patients with AN in comparison to the average population. Methods A controlled clinical trial was designed for a matched group of 47 AN patients and 54 healthy individuals. After clinical examination, unstimulated salivary samples were taken during the acute stage of AN (BMI < 15 kg/m(2)) in the first week of hospitalisation. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) suitable for measuring sAA, sIgA and free cortisol were used. Results Anorexic patients exhibited disturbances in sAA secretion, and significantly increased cortisol and sIgA levels with a distinct correlation between these two parameters. Conclusions The behaviour of cortisol, sAA and sIgA levels can be assessed as an effect of stress reaction among AN patients with hyperactivity of the HPA axis and ANS dysregulation. The effect of stress response can be assessed reliably in saliva.
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3.
Resilience Training: A Pilot Study of a Mindfulness-Based Program with Depressed Healthcare Professionals.
Johnson, JR, Emmons, HC, Rivard, RL, Griffin, KH, Dusek, JA
Explore (New York, N.Y.). 2015;(6):433-44
Abstract
CONTEXT Mindfulness-based programs have been primarily used to target anxiety or the prevention of relapse in recurrent depression; however, limited research has been conducted on the use of mindfulness programs for relief of current depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential effect of resilience training (RT) on symptom relief for current or recurrent depression, and other psychological/behavioral outcomes. DESIGN Wait-list comparison pilot study. SETTING Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, Allina Health, Minneapolis, MN. PARTICIPANTS A total of 40 actively working healthcare professionals age 18-65 years. INTERVENTION RT is an eight-week mindfulness-based program that synergizes elements of mindfulness meditation with nutrition and exercise. The first 20 consecutive individuals meeting all eligibility criteria were assigned to the RT group. The next 20 consecutive eligible individuals were placed into the wait-list control group and had an eight-week waiting period before starting the RT program. OUTCOME MEASURES Psychological/behavioral outcomes were measured before and after completion of the RT program and two months after completion. Wait-list participants also had measures taken just before starting on the wait-list. RESULTS The RT group exhibited a 63-70% (P ≤ .01) reduction in depression, a 48% (P ≤ .01) reduction in stress, a 23% (P ≤ .01) reduction in trait anxiety, and a 52% (P ≤ .01) reduction in presenteeism (a per-employee savings of $1846 over the eight-week program). All outcomes were statistically significantly different from the wait-list group. Most improvements persisted up to two months after completion of the RT program. CONCLUSIONS Further replication with a larger sample size, and enhanced control group is warranted.
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4.
Women's perceptions of everyday occupations: outcomes of the Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO) programme.
Eklund, M, Erlandsson, LK
Scandinavian journal of occupational therapy. 2014;(5):359-67
Abstract
AIMS: The aim was to (i) assess the outcomes of the 16-week Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO) programme for women on sick leave due to stress-related disorders, in terms of occupational value, satisfaction with everyday occupations, and participation level; (ii) investigate the relationships between those outcomes and return-to-work rate. METHODS A total of 42 women receiving ReDO and 42 receiving care as usual (CAU) were included in a matched-control study with measurements before and after the rehabilitation. Seventy-eight participated on both occasions. They completed self-report questionnaires regarding the aforementioned outcomes. Return-to-work data were obtained from the registers of the Social Insurance Offices. RESULTS Increases in concrete, symbolic, and self-reward values were found in both groups, but no statistically significant difference between the groups was demonstrated. The ReDO group improved more than the CAU group, however, on satisfaction with everyday occupations and participation level. Occupational value, but not satisfaction with everyday occupations, was related to return to work. CONCLUSIONS Everyday occupations were shown to be relevant outcomes after work rehabilitation. They could play an important role in future development of profession-specific evidence of occupational therapy. Further support was obtained for viewing occupational value and satisfaction with everyday occupations as theoretically distinct phenomena.
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5.
[New possibilities of pharmacotherapy in cardiovascular patients with mental disorders].
Medvedev, VE, Frolova, VI, Epifanov, AV
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova. 2014;(9):30-7
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy and tolerability of the drugs pantogam active and phenotropil in mild neurotic, somatoform, stress-induced and depressive disorders developed in patients with cardiovascular diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS The effect of pantogam active was assessed in an open study. The main group of patients (n=35) treated with phenotropil during 12 weeks was compared to the comparison group (n=35). Patient's status was evaluated using psychometric (CGI, HDRS etc) and adverse effect scales. RESULTS AND СONCLUSION Statistically significant results demonstrated the advantages of pantogam active has advantage on a number of values. The treatment effect of pantogam active gradually increased while the effect (in particular anxiolytic one) of phenotropil decreased after 4-8 weeks of treatment. The tolerability of both drugs was satisfactory.
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6.
Rise of ketone bodies with psychosocial stress in normal weight men.
Kubera, B, Hubold, C, Wischnath, H, Zug, S, Peters, A
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2014;:43-8
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ketone bodies are known as alternative cerebral energy substrates to glucose. During psychosocial stress, the brain of a normal weight subject demands for extra glucose from the body to satisfy its increased needs. In contrast, the brain of an obese subject organizes its need, supply and demand in a low-reactive manner. The present study aimed at investigating (i) whether psychosocial stress increases ketone body concentrations and (ii) whether ketone reactivity to a psychosocial challenge differs between normal weight and obese people. METHODS Ten normal weight and ten obese men participated in two sessions (stress induced by the Trier Social Stress Test and a non-stress control session). Blood samples were frequently taken to assess serum β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations and stress hormone profiles. RESULTS Our main finding was that social stress markedly increased concentrations of serum β-hydroxybutyrate by 454% in normal weight men. The increase in ketone bodies during stress in normal weight subjects was associated with an increase in ACTH, norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations. Interestingly, we could not detect any increase in serum β-hydroxybutyrate concentrations during stress in obese men. CONCLUSION Normal weight men showed high ketone reactivity to a psychosocial challenge.
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7.
[Effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and stress responses of postpartum women].
Shin, HS, Ryu, KH, Song, YA
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing. 2011;(3):294-301
Abstract
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and stress responses of postpartum women. METHODS The research design was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The participants were 67 postpartum women who agreed to participate in this study, selected by convenience sampling: (experiment group-33 and control group-34). The data were collected from August 5 to September 30, 2010. The experimental group received laughter therapy from a laughter therapy expert for 60 min, twice a week for 2 weeks, a total of 4 sessions. To evaluate the effects of laughter therapy, postpartum fatigue by self-report questionnaire and cortisol concentration in breast milk were measured. The data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 13.0 Program. RESULTS The first hypothesis that "the degree of postpartum fatigue in the experimental group participating in laughter therapy would be lower than that of the control group" was accepted. These findings indicate that laughter therapy has a positive effect on decreasing postpartum fatigue. CONCLUSION The finding provides evidence for use of complementary and alternative nursing in Sanhujori facilities and obstetric units to reduce postpartum women's fatigue.
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8.
Biological mediators of effect of diet and stress reduction on prostate cancer.
Saxe, GA, Major, JM, Westerberg, L, Khandrika, S, Downs, TM
Integrative cancer therapies. 2008;(3):130-8
Abstract
BACKGROUND A 6-month pilot intervention trial was conducted to determine whether adoption of a plant-based diet, reinforced by stress reduction, could reduce the rate of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) increase, a marker of disease progression, in asymptomatic, hormonally untreated patients experiencing consistently increasing PSA levels after surgery or radiation. METHODS A pre-post design was used to examine (1) the effect of intervention on potential mediators of disease progression, including body composition and weight-related biomarkers (sex steroid hormones and cytokines), and (2) whether changes in these variables were associated with change in rate of PSA increase. The baseline rate of PSA increase (from the time of posttreatment recurrence to the start of intervention) was ascertained from medical records. Body composition and biomarkers were assessed at baseline (prior to intervention), during the intervention (3 months), and at the end of the intervention (6 months). Changes in body composition and biomarkers were determined and compared with rates of PSA increase over the corresponding time intervals. RESULTS There was a significant reduction in waist-to-hip ratio (P=.03) and increase in circulating sex hormone binding globulin (P=.04). The rate of PSA increase decreased from the preintervention period (PSA slope=0.059) to the period from 0 to 3 months (PSA slope=0.002, P<.01) and increased slightly, although not significantly, from 0 to 3 months to the period from 3 to 6 months (0.029, P=.43). CONCLUSIONS Adoption of a plant-based diet and stress reduction may reduce central adiposity and improve the hormonal milieu in patients with recurrent PC. Changes in the rate of increase in PSA were in the same direction as changes in waist-to-hip ratio and opposite those of sex hormone binding globulin, raising the possibility that the effect of the intervention may have been mediated, in part, by these variables.
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9.
Effect of yoga based lifestyle intervention on subjective well-being.
Sharma, R, Gupta, N, Bijlani, RL
Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology. 2008;(2):123-31
Abstract
Yoga is assuming importance in improving mental health and quality of life in the treatment of a number of psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders. The present study was a prospective controlled study to explore the short-term impact of a comprehensive but brief lifestyle intervention, based on yoga, on subjective well being levels in normal and diseased subjects. Normal healthy individuals and subjects having hypertension, coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus or a variety of other illnesses were included in the study. The outcome measures were 'subjective well being inventory' (SUBI) scores, taken on the first and last day of the course. The inventory consists of questions related to one's feelings and attitude about various areas of life, such as happiness, achievement and interpersonal relationship. There was significant improvement in the subjective well being scores of the 77 subjects within a period of 10 days as compared to controls. These observations suggest that a short lifestyle modification and stress management educational program leads to remarkable improvement in the subjective well being scores of the subjects and can therefore make an appreciable contribution to primary prevention as well as management of lifestyle diseases.
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10.
The acute ghrelin response to a psychological stress challenge does not predict the post-stress urge to eat.
Rouach, V, Bloch, M, Rosenberg, N, Gilad, S, Limor, R, Stern, N, Greenman, Y
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007;(6):693-702
Abstract
Ghrelin is a growth hormone and cortisol secretagogue that plays an important role in appetite and weight regulation. It is not known whether ghrelin is involved in the eating response to stress in humans. In the present study we examined the effects of psychologically induced stress on plasma ghrelin levels in patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) (n=8) and in healthy subjects of normal (n=8) or increased (n=8) body mass index (BMI). Volunteers were subjected to the standardized trier social stress test (TSST). Heart rate, blood pressure, serum cortisol, serum prolactin, and plasma ghrelin levels were measured throughout the test. In addition, subjects were requested to rate their feelings of anxiety, tension, urge to eat uncontrollably and desire to eat sweets by means of a visual analog scale both before and after the TSST. There was a significant rise in the systolic blood pressure (p=0.003) in the study population, reflecting induction of physiological changes by the psychological challenge. Basal ghrelin levels were higher in healthy normal weight (385.4+/-79 pg/ml) than in obese (170.4+/-15.7 pg/ml) subjects (p<0.033). Basal ghrelin levels in patients with BED (240+/-40.8 pg/ml) were at an intermediate level between thin and healthy obese subjects, but this difference did not attain statistical significance. There were no differences in ghrelin levels throughout the test among the groups after correction for BMI, age and gender. A significant difference in the trend time of ghrelin was revealed when the three groups were analyzed according to their cortisol response to stress. Ghrelin levels increased in cortisol responders whereas no change or a decrease in ghrelin levels occurred in cortisol non-responders (p=0.038). Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between the change in ghrelin and the change in cortisol during TSST (r=0.444, p=0.029) but not between the change in ghrelin and the change in systolic blood pressure. The combined score of stress and anxiety was higher in subjects in the higher quartile of ghrelin response in comparison to the lower quartile both before (28.3+/-6.5 vs. 6.6+/-3.3, p=0.0077) and after (61.6+/-9 vs. 28.3+/-11.3, p=0.033) TSST. On the other hand, eating related scores did not differ according to quartiles of ghrelin response. Our findings indicate that a psychological stress may induce an increase in plasma ghrelin levels in humans, and that the post-stress induced urge for uncontrolled eating is not acutely modulated by stress related elevations in ghrelin levels. Furthermore, the stress induced increase in plasma ghrelin was associated with the acute response of serum cortisol to stress, but was independent of BMI or the presence of BED.