Stress-Induced Endocrine and Immune Dysfunctions in Caregivers of People with Eating Disorders

Abstract

Caregivers have to cope repeatedly with acute stressors in their daily lives, and this is associated with disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the immune system. Such disturbances could contribute to the development of health problems in informal caregivers of people with chronic illnesses, such as eating disorders (EDs). The main objective of this study was to examine endocrine (salivary cortisol levels (Csal)), immune (immunoglobulin-A (IgA)), and psychological (anxiety, mood, and anger feelings) responses to an acute psychological stressor in a sample of informal caregivers of individuals with EDs compared to a sample of non-caregivers. In addition, it also aimed to analyze the potential relationship of the aforementioned endocrine and immune response parameters with psychological variables in the caregivers. Caregivers had lower Csal and IgA levels at all assessment points except baseline. Moreover, they also exhibited lower Csal and IgA responses and greater worsening of mood in response to acute psychosocial stress than the non-caregivers, which suggests that caregivers had dampened endocrine and immune reactivity to acute stress. On the other hand, endocrine and immune parameters were unrelated to psychological variables. These findings advance our understanding of how a chronically stressed population reacts to acute stress, and should be considered for the development of effective interventions focused on stress management that could help caregivers to reduce their stress levels, which, in turn, would improve their health.

Could Alcohol Abuse Drive Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators’ Psychophysiological Response to Acute Stress?

“…The laboratory task, which can be considered a cognitive stressor and has previously been validated in clinical and normative populations employing hormonal, immunological, and psychophysiological parameters [34,35], proved to be effective in modifying emotionality and the psychophysiological state in our study. All the participants showed a significant decrease in positive affect, increases in SCL, HR, and RR, and shortening of the PEP from resting to the task periods.…”

“…The present study sought to confirm and extend the results of Romero-Martínez et al [5,6], while including some changes in the experimental procedure and increasing the sample size, in order to improve our understanding of the complex phenomenon of IPV. Specifically, the first objective of this study was to analyze reactive IPV perpetrators’ psychological (trait and state) and physiological responses to a set of cognitive tests, namely, an acute laboratory stressor previously shown to produce psychophysiological activation [34,35], compared to a non-violent group (controls). Based on the results of Romero-Martínez et al [5,6], we expected that reactive IPV perpetrators would present higher sympathetic predominance and lower vagal regulation in response to acute stress than controls.…”

Hormonal Differences in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators When They Cope with Acute Stress: A Pilot Study

“…To avoid potential biases in the topic employed as a stressor and based on previous research in this field [ 27 , 28 , 37 , 38 , 39 ], we decided to include a stress task consisting of a battery of neuropsychological tests in the following order: memory, attention, and executive functioning. Participants completed these tests in front of an audience consisting of two evaluators (a man and a woman).…”

“…To address this gap in the literature, this study aimed to explore whether Tsal, Csal and Oxsal responses of IPVAW perpetrators, as well as their ratios (quotients between different hormonal levels), to an acute laboratory stressor differ from those of non-violent men. Based on previous scientific evidence with IPVAW perpetrators in response to acute stress [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 , 27 ], as well as interactions between the hormones described above [ 15 , 16 , 17 ], we hypothesized that IPVAW perpetrators would present higher Tsal and Tsal/Csal ratios as well as lower Csal and OXsal than controls in response to an acute validated stressor. Additionally, this study investigated the potential relationship between the previously mentioned hormones and affective states in response to acute stress.…”

The influence of pro-gly-pro-leu on the level of cytokines under the conditions of "social" stress

“…Currently, special attention is paid to the creation of drugs with stress-protective activity, which is directly related to modern human conditions, constantly accompanied by various stressful factors, which often entail the development of a complex of reactions, both compensatory and pathological, and, ultimately, they can lead to disruption of the immune mechanisms of homeostasis [1,2,3,4,5].…”