Neuroendocrine responses to psychological stress in eumenorrheic and oligomenorrheic women.

Neuroendocrine adaptive responses to psychological stress include activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sometimes suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. In women who experience chronic stress, these responses are probably responsible for disturbances in the menstrual cycle. In the present experiment, we investigated the effect of an acutely stressful situation on the physiological and neuroendocrine responses in college age women. We hypothesized that females who are experiencing some degree of abnormal menstrual function or women who have less-robust cycles (oligomenorrheic females) would exhibit differences in gonadotropin secretion from eumenorrheic females when exposed to psychological stressors. Fifteen women completed this study: eumenorrheic (n = 5) and oligomenorrheic women (n = 5) who experienced a series of psychological stressors, and eumenorrheic controls (n = 5). Blood samples were taken at 10 min intervals for 8 h (09:00-17:00) in each woman during the mid-follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The psychological stressors were administered for 1 h beginning at 13:00 h. Luteinizing hormone (LH), growth hormone (GH) and cortisol were measured in each sample to assess the effect of stress on secretion of these hormones. Deconvolution analysis was used to analyze pulsatile hormone secretion and the approximate entropy (ApEn) statistic analyzed the regularity of release of each hormone. Although, there were significant changes in heart rate (HR), skin resistance (SR) and cortisol levels in the stressed women during the psychological stressor compared to resting baseline values but not in the controls, there was no difference in either LH or GH secretion between women who experienced stress and those who did not. Furthermore, there were no differences in the LH or GH secretion patterns in the oligomenorrheic and eumenorrheic women exposed to the psychological stressor.

The effects of movement, relaxation, and education on the stress levels of women with subclinical levels of bulimia.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a multidisciplinary intervention program on the attitudes and symptoms associated with bulimia nervosa (BN). The Bulimia Test (BULIT) and subscales from the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) associated with BN were administered to 373 females to determine eligibility for participation in the study. In order to qualify for the study, participants had to be female, not be anorexic, and meet one of four criteria indicating that they had some of the symptoms of BN. Following the screening, 12 females were randomly assigned to a control group (C, n=6) or an intervention group (I, n=6). The I group then participated in an 8-week multidisciplinary intervention program consisting of small group discussions, movement improvisation, and relaxation techniques. Dependent variables consisted of scores from standardized instruments for anxiety, self-esteem, and BN. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) on the difference score from post- to pretest was calculated for state and trait anxiety. That analysis indicated that compared to the C group, which showed no reduction in anxiety, the I group had a significant reduction in anxiety following the intervention program. No significant differences were found between groups for self-esteem or symptoms of BN. Conclusions were that anxiety levels were lowered in the I group; however, attitudes or behaviors associated with BN were not affected by the intervention.

Explanatory variance in bulimia nervosa.

In order to prevent disease, one must understand the factors that contribute to the variance of the illness. In an effort to better understand factors that contribute to bulimia nervosa (BN), a study was designed to investigate explanatory factors in BN. Of particular interest to the researchers in the study was the effect of the Hispanic subculture on the variance of BN. Female participants (n = 372) and male participants (n = 109) from the ages of 17-49 agreed to serve in the study. A self-report scale designed to assess the symptoms of BN was the criterion variable in the study. Predictor variables included in the regression model were drive for thinness, body mass index (BMI), age, and ethnicity (Hispanic or Anglo). Separate analyses were run for males and females. Based on the results of the analysis it seems that the desire to be thinner and an individual's BMI contribute to the variance in BN for females, but not for males. There was no difference in the attitudes associated with BN between Hispanic (n = 27) and Anglo (n = 321) females.