Psychological Stress linked to Shingles in Older Adults

[Guest guest]

" JoAnn Guest " <angelprincessjo

Sun Nov 17, 2002 4:45 pm

Psychological Stress linked to Shingles in Older Adults

 

 

 

 

Psychological Stress Linked to Shingles in Older Adults

 

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/news/viewarticle/1,1513,1074,00.html

 

 

What the Study Showed

How It Was Done

Why It's Important

 

 

What the Study Showed

North Carolina researchers have found that the way people experience

a stressful life event increases their risk of developing shingles

(herpes zoster). This Duke University study was carried out in older

people (a population commonly afflicted by this painful skin

condition), and reported in the nationally recognized Journal of the

American Geriatrics Society.

 

How It Was Done

A widely respected technique for assessing stressful life events in

older people--the Geriatric Scale of Recent Life Events--was

administered to 101 individuals with shingles. For comparison, 101

individuals of the same age, sex, and race with no active shingles

were surveyed as well.

 

Participants were asked to describe recent stressful events--the

illness of a spouse or moving to another home--and how they felt

about what happened. The goal was to measure the number of stressful

events that had occurred as well as what type of psychological strain

the event provoked in that particular person.

 

Questions were posed to all the participants by telephone.

 

Why It's Important

Experts have long been mystified about why people do or don't develop

shingles--a condition caused by a reawakening of the same virus that

causes chickenpox.

 

The strength of an individual's immune system is now seen as a

possible component in the appearance of a shingles infection. People

with immune systems weakened by illness, or those undergoing cancer

chemotherapy or infected with HIV, for example, are at higher risk

for coming down with shingles. Age also brings a general decline in

the immune system, and shingles correspondingly tends to surface in

those over age 50.

 

Another factor long considered important in immune-system weakening

is psychological stress. In this study, Duke University researchers

found that so-called " negative " life events were more common in the

group that developed shingles than in the group that didn't. More to

the point, however, the findings indicate that the way a person deals

with stressful events makes a big difference; those who developed

shingles were significantly more likely to perceive an event as

stressful than were those in the shingles-free control group.

 

Americans are bombarded with information about the health hazards of

stress. This study is additional evidence that when it comes to

preventing shingles, the key may be to find ways to handle stress

more effectively--whether it's through exercise, meditation, or some

other technique that makes sense for a given individual.

 

Source: Schmader K, et al. Are stressful life events risk factors for

herpes zoster? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 1990;38

(11):1188-1194.

 

 

 

Date Posted: 04/20/2001