Humans ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy/etiology* ; Electrocardiography ; Stress, Psychological/complications*

OBJECTIVES: This descriptive study was conducted to examine the degree of stress, coping styles, communication with the mother and depression between headache-suffering children and headache-free children and to explore predicted factors for headache occurrence in children. METHOD: The subjects of this study consisted of 196 headache-free children and 107 headache-suffering children. They were 4th-6th graders of an elementary school in T city. The instruments in this study were David's stressor of children, Lazarus & Folkman's Stress Coping Style, PACI (Parent-Adolescent Communication Inventory) by Barnes & Olsen and Kovac's CDI (Children's depression inventory). Data were collected from May 2 to July 16, 2004. RESULTS: Total stress(t=-3.76, p=.035), school stress(t=-3.02, p=.001), mass media stress(t=-1.39, p=.029) and depression(t=7.62, p=.001) in headache-suffering children were significantly higher than those of headache-free children. Problem-oriented coping skills (t=1.23, p=.023), and the score of communication with the mother (t=2.32, p=.012) in headache-suffering children were lower than those of headache-free children. Logistic regression analysis (stepwise) showed that the most powerful predictor was stressors in school, followed by depression, stressors in mass media and communication with the mother. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that important factors such as the degree of school stress, depression, the degree of mass media stress, communication with the mother and problem-oriented coping skills should be controlled for reducing of headaches in children.
Stress, Psychological/complications ; Mother-Child Relations ; Male ; Humans ; Headache/etiology/*psychology ; Female ; Child ; Adaptation, Psychological

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is described as an acute cardiomyopathy that occurs under the influence of an excessive level of catecholamine related to intense emotional stress. A 64-year-old woman presented with symptoms of acute myocardial infarction after emotional upset, but her coronary angiographic findings were revealed to be normal. Diffuse T wave inversions were observed in her electrocardiograms with akinetic wall motions sparing the basal segments in her left ventriculography. After four months, her electrocardiogram and echocardiogram findings had completely returned to normal. The precise diagnosis of this acute cardiomyopathy must be emphasized because it can initially be misdiagnosed as acute coronary syndromes. However in complete contrast to acute myocardial infarction, it has a rapid and favorable recovery with hardly any sequelae after a few months.
Case Report ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Human ; Middle Age ; Myocardial Diseases/*complications ; Myocardial Infarction/*etiology ; Stress, Psychological/*complications

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation betwen varying degrees of non-acute tinnitus and anxiety and depression. METHOD: Seventy-seven outpatients with non-acute tinnitus as their in chief complaint were submitted to Tinnitus Handicap Inventory(THI), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). RESULT: THI and its three subscales were found to have significant correlations with SAS and SDS. The group (THI ≥ 38) had more anxiety and depression than the mild (THI < 38). Significant correlations were also observed between THI, SAS and SDS in the group with THI ≥ 38, in contrast with the group of THI < 38. CONCLUSION Patients with THI ≥ 38 suffered from severe anxiety and depression than the mild. Doctors should pay more attention to these patients, especially their psychological disorders.
Anxiety ; complications ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Humans ; Personality Inventory ; Stress, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tinnitus ; complications ; psychology

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed the clinical and radiographic results of the posterior lumbar interbody fusion performed on patients 50-65 and >7-years-of-age suffering from degenerative lumbar disease. LITERATURE REVIEW SUMMARY: Several studies on posterior lumbar interbody fusion performed on patients aged about 65 years reported insignificant age-related differences in the spinal-fusion results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The records of 121 patients with degenerative lumbar disease treated with posterior lumbar interbody fusion between 2004 and 2010 were assessed. The patients' clinical results, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry disability index (ODI) values, and complications before and after the surgery were compared. The radiographic results and changes in the fusion segmental angle before and after the surgery as well as in the height of the posterior intervertebral disc were also compared. RESULTS: In group A, comprising 44 patients >70-years-of-age, follow-up duration and number of comorbidities were 73.3 years and 17.8 months, respectively. In group B, comprising 77 patients 50-65-years-of-age, follow-up duration and number of comorbidities were 58.8 years and 31.8 months, respectively. In both groups, the average VAS scores and ODI values decreased. The incidence rate of vertebra-related postoperative complications was 13.6% in group A and 9.0% in group B. The incidence rate of general complications unrelated to the vertebra, was 18.1% in group A and 9.0% in group B. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion is considered effective even in patients over 70 years with a degenerative lumbar disease.
Aged ; Comorbidity ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intervertebral Disc ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the relationship among Depression, Stress, and Social support in Korean Adult Women. METHOD: The subjects of this study consisted of 2,503 Korean Adult Women from 20 to 64years. The data was collected through personal interviews from March to May of 2001 using questionnaires. The data was analyzed by the SPSS(ver.10.0) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, t-test, one way ANOVA, the pearson correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression. RESULT: The level of depression, stress, and social support were 16.22 for depression, 27.43 for stress, and 87.48 for social support. There was a significant difference in social support according to residence area, age, level of education, marital status, type of family, religion, income, and job. There was a significant positive correlation between stress and depression, a significant negative correlation between stress and social support, and social support and depression. Stress and social support were significant predictors (29.6%) of depression. CONCLUSION: This study showed that thorough nursing assessment of variables related to social support is needed for development of nursing intervention strategies. Further studies need to be conducted for group comparisons according to the life cycle of Korean women.
Adult ; Depression/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; *Social Support ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Stress, Psychological/*complications

Female ; Humans ; Menstruation ; physiology ; Menstruation Disturbances ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Occupational Health ; Stress, Psychological ; complications ; epidemiology ; physiopathology

Acute Disease ; Aged ; Cardiomyopathies ; etiology ; pathology ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological ; complications

Most studies provide strong support for an etiologic role of stressful life events in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Consistent with the observations in both patients and doctors that psychosocial disturbances seem to precede the onset or exacerbation of gut symptoms, researches have consistently found high levels of emotional distress in a proportion of patients with IBS and other functional gastrointestinal disorders. Moreover, a variety of other potentially psychiatric diseases such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disorder also coexist frequently with IBS. In recent literatures, some studies have shown altered mechanoelastic properties such as colonic tone, compliance, and accommodation. The demonstrated differences in colonic compliance and accommodation suggest peripheral neuromuscular substrate contributing to the pathogenesis of IBS. However, until now, attention has focused on the disturbances of visceral hypersensitivity rather than on gastrointestinal motor function as a hallmark of IBS pathophysiology. But not all IBS patients show decreased rectosigmoid pain thresholds. Recent advances in brain imaging have allowed investigators to measure changes in regional cerebral blood flow during stimulation. Those methods have extended our understanding of brain function and brain-gut interaction. IBS is characterized by hypersensitivity to visceral sensation and augmented response to stress. Studies on the disorders of sensori-motor function have also contributed to understand the knowledge of neurotransmitters involved in the function of the enteric nervous system and to identify targets for the development of new treatments for IBS.
Brain/physiology ; Humans ; Intestines/innervation/physiopathology ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/physiopathology/*psychology ; Stress, Psychological/complications/physiopathology

PURPOSE: This study was to identify the relationship between stress, social support and depression in the elderly. METHOD: The subjects were 283 elderly adults over 60 in Seoul. Data was collected by questionnaire surveys using convenience sampling. The instruments used in this study are the ELSI developed by Aldwin(1990), the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List developed by Cohen & Hoberman (1983), and the Geriatric Depression Scale by Yesavage & Brink(1982). Data was analyzed by the SAS program, using descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, t-test, ANOVA and progressed Multiple Regression. RESULT: The relationship between stress and depression had a positive correlation (r= 0.33), but the relationship between stress and social support had no significant correlations. The relationship between social support and depression had a negative correlation (r= -0.38). The most powerful predictor of depression was the economic status and then a combination of stress, and social support account for 39% of the variance in depression in the elderly. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that stress and social support deficits can be potential risk factors in old age depression. Therefore, these findings give useful information for constructing an intervention program focused on depression in the elderly.
Aged ; Depression/*etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Social Support ; Stress, Psychological/*complications