| 1. |
- Jonsdottir, Ingibjörg H, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Cognitive impairment in patients with stress-related exhaustion
- 2013
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Ingår i: Stress-the International Journal on the Biology of Stress. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1025-3890 .- 1607-8888. ; 16:2, s. 181-190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patients who seek medical care for stress-related mental health problems frequently report cognitive impairments as the most pronounced symptom. The purpose of the present study was to compare cognitive function in patients with stress-related exhaustion with that in healthy controls, using a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests. We also explored whether neuropsychological findings were related to severity of illness measured using the Shirom–Melamed burnout questionnaire and hospital anxiety and depression scale. Thirty-three patients (15 males) and 37 healthy controls (11 males), mean age 46 years [standard deviation (SD) 3.9] and 47 years (SD 4.3), respectively, were included in the final analysis. Five cognitive domains were assessed: (1) speed, attention and working memory, (2) learning and episodic memory, (3) executive functions, (4) visuospatial functions and (5) language. The most pronounced difference between patients and controls was seen on executive function, when tested with a multidimensional test, including aspects of speed, control and working memory. The patients also performed poorer on Digit span, measuring attention span and working memory as well as on learning and episodic memory, when measured as delayed recall and the difference between immediate and delayed recall. Delayed recall was the only test that was significantly related to severity of burnout symptoms among the patients. This could reflect poor cognitive sustainability in the patients with the highest burnout scores, as this particular test was the last one performed during the test session. This study clearly shows that cognitive impairment should be considered when evaluating and treating patients who seek medical care for stress-related exhaustion.
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| 2. |
- Lennartsson, Anna-Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Burnout and hypocortisolism - a matter of severity? : A study on acth and cortisol responses to acute psychosocial stress
- 2015
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychiatry. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-0640. ; 6:FEB
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Common consequences of long-term psychosocial stress are fatigue and burnout. It has been suggested that burnout could be associated with hypocortisolism, thus, inability to produce sufficient amounts of cortisol. This study aimed to investigate whether patients with clinical burnout exhibit aberrant ACTH and cortisol responses under acute psychosocial stress compared with healthy individuals. Methods: Nineteen patients (9 men and 10 women) and 37 healthy subjects (20 men and 17 women), underwent the Trier Social Stress Test. Blood samples and saliva samples were collected before, after, and during the stress test for measurements of plasma ACTH, serum cortisol, and salivary cortisol. Several statistical analyses were conducted to compare the responses between patients and controls. In addition, in order to investigate the possibility that burnout patients with more severe symptoms would respond differently, sub-groups of patients reporting higher and lower burnout scores were compared. Results: In both patients and healthy controls, we observed elevated levels of ACTH and cortisol after exposure to the stressor. There were no differences in responses of ACTH, serum cortisol, or salivary cortisol between patients and controls. Patients reporting higher burnout scores had lower salivary cortisol responses than controls, indicating that patients with more severe burnout symptoms may be suffering from hypocortisolism. In addition, patients with more severe burnout symptoms tended to have smaller ACTH responses than the other patients. However, there was no corresponding difference in serum cortisol. Conclusion: This study indicates that hypocortisolism is not present in a clinical burnout patient group as a whole but may be present in the patients with more severe burnout symptoms. © 2015 Lennartsson, Sjörs, Währborg, Ljung and Jonsdottir.
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| 3. |
- Lindwall, Magnus, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Self-reported physical activity and aerobic fitness are differently related to mental health
- 2012
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Ingår i: Mental Health and Physical Activity. - : Elsevier BV. - 1755-2966 .- 1878-0199. ; 5:1, s. 28-34
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A relevant, but overlooked question is if self-reported physical activity and aerobic fitness are differently related to mental health. Purpose: To examine the relation between mental health and level of self-reported physical activity (SRPA) and aerobic fitness (AF), and whether AF mediates the relation between SRPA and mental health. Methods: Participating in the study were 177 voluntary subjects (49% men, 51% women) with a mean age of 39 years. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) was used to evaluate self-reported symptoms of burnout. Leisure time SRPA during the last three months were measured using a single item. AF was measured by using the Åstrand bicycle test. Results: Self-reported physical activity, but not AF, was significantly related to self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout. Light to moderate physical activity that is performed regularly seems to be associated with more favorable mental health pattern compared with physical inactivity. No support was found for the mediating effect of AF of the physical activityemental health relationship. Conclusions: Self-reported behavior of regular physical activity seems to be more important to monitor than measures of AF when considering the potential preventive effects of physical activity on mental health.
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| 4. |
- Sjörs, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Diurnal salivary cortisol in relation to perceived stress at home and at work in healthy men and women
- 2014
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Ingår i: Biological Psychology. - : Elsevier. - 0301-0511 .- 1873-6246. ; 99:1, s. 193-197
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigated the association between diurnal salivary cortisol profile and perceived stress at work and at home. Healthy participants (N= 180, 52% women) collected saliva cortisol samples immediately after waking up, 15. min later, 30. min later, and at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00. The area under the cortisol awakening curve with respect to ground (AUCgCAR) and increase (AUCiCAR), and diurnal slope between 9:00 and 21:00 were analyzed. Perceived stress at work and at home was measured with the Stress-Energy Questionnaire.Participants reporting stress at home had significantly lower AUCgCAR and a flatter diurnal slope. When performing separate analyses for men and women, this association was only significant among women. Perceived stress at work was not associated with any cortisol measure.This study highlights the importance of stress outside the workplace. The sex differences may indicate an increased vulnerability to non-work stress in women. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
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| 5. |
- Sjörs, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term follow-up of cortisol awakening response in patients treated for stress-related exhaustion
- 2012
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Ingår i: Bmj Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 2:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Studies on hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in stress-related exhaustion Design: HPA axis activity was assessed through the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Salivary cortisol Setting: An outpatient clinic specialising in stress-related illness. Participants: Patients with clinically diagnosed stress-related exhaustion (n = 162) and healthy controls Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary measure was CAR measured as the difference Results: Patients showed similar CAR as the controls and their CAR did not change significantly during Conclusions: The authors conclude that CAR does not seem to discriminate clinically defined patients
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