Wirtz
Fakultäten » Philosophische Fakultät » Psychologisches Institut » Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie » Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ehlert » Wirtz
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Psychological determinants of the stress reactivity of intermediate biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease | ||||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Several physiological parameters are considered to be intermediate biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In addition to elevated release of inflammatory markers by immune cells (e.g. tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF)–alpha or interleukin-6), elevated coagulation activity and blood lipid levels, but also hyperreactivity of cardiovascular parameters and stress hormones to stress-induction have been associated with cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether psychological factors, like e.g. anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal, or personality factors like perfectionism, are associated with elevated reactivity of intermediate biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease to acute psychosocial stress. 48 medication-free non-smoking men underwent a psychosocial stress task including public speaking and mental arithmetics. In addition to markers of cardiovascular and endocrine stress reactivity, we also measured coagulation activity and proinflammatory cytokine release by monocytes before and several times after stress induction. We controlled for the classical cardiovascular risk factors age, gender, smoking status, blood pressure, and body mass index. |
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| Publications / Publikationen | Wirtz, P.H., Ehlert, U., Emini, L., Ruedisueli, K., Groessbauer, S., Gaab, J., Elsenbruch, S. & Von Känel, R. (2006). Anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal and the acute procoagulant stress response. Psychosom Med 2006;68:851-8. Wirtz, P.H., Elsenbruch, S., Emini, L., Ruedisueli, K., Groessbauer, S. & Ehlert, U. (in press). Perfectionism and the Cortisol Response to Psychosocial Stress. Psychosom Med. Wirtz, P.H., Von Känel, R., Emini, L., Suter, T., Fontana, A.,& Ehlert, U. (revised manuscript under review). Anticipatory cognitive stress appraisal is associated with altered proinflammatory cytokine expression in response to stress. |
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| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | Monocyte cytokine release, IL-6, TNF-alpha, coagulation, stress reactivity, cognitive appraisal, perfectionism | ||||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Forschungskredit der Universität Zürich |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Dec 2003 to Dec 2005 |