Increased chronic stress predicts greater emotional negativity bias and poorer social skills but not cognitive functioning in healthy adults.

Background and Objectives: Chronically stressed individuals report deficits spanning cognitive and emotional functioning. However, limitations to clinical populations and measures of stress have impeded the generalisability and scope of results. This study investigated whether chronic stress predicted cognitive and emotional functioning, and whether these relationships differed between males and females, in a large representative sample of healthy participants. Design: Cross-sectional study. Method: 1883 healthy adults sampled from the Brain Resource International Database reported stress using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Participants then completed a cognitive and emotional assessment battery (IntegNeuro), as well as questionnaires related to sleep, emotional functioning, and self-regulation. Results: In contrast to previously reported results, chronic stress did not predict cognitive functioning. However, higher stress predicted a greater negativity bias and poorer social skills, confirming previous research identifying these links. Conclusions: Cognitive deficits related to stress are absent in healthy participants when stress is measured using the 21-items Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Identifying how chronic stress is associated with aspects of emotional functioning can lead to personalized interventions for individuals to better manage the negative outcomes resulting from stress.

Cryptococcus infection in a non-HIV patient: a case report.

Cryptococcal infections are fungal infections most commonly seen in immunocompromised patients. Chronic high-dose steroid may precipitate such an immunocompromised state and thus create susceptibility to fungal infections. Cryptococcus neoformans is a saprophyte usually found in soil contaminated with pigeon droppings. Suspicion to diagnose begins with clinical symptoms that can be non-specific such as fevers, cough, and headaches. We present a case of steroid-induced cryptococcal infection in a non-HIV-infected person.