LOS ANGELES, Mar 16, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The stress of first love, first
break up, gossip, exams and fights with parents can impact teens' health when
they become adults, U.S. researchers said.
Andrew J. Fuligni of the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues
report that in a study of otherwise healthy, normal teens who self-reported
various negative interpersonal interactions, researchers found that a greater
frequency of such stress was associated with higher levels of an inflammatory
marker called C-reactive protein.
C-reactive protein has been identified as an indicator for the later development
of cardiovascular disease.
"Although most research on stress and inflammation has focused upon adulthood,
these results show that such links can occur as early as the teenage years, even
among a healthy sample of young men and women," Fuligni said in a statement.
"That suggests that alterations in the biological substrates that initiate
cardiovascular disease begin before adulthood."
The researchers tracked 69 adolescents, average age 17, from Latin American and
European backgrounds, who completed a daily diary and reported any experiences
of negative interpersonal interaction with family, peers or school personnel.
The study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, found that daily
interpersonal stress experienced during the high school years was associated
with elevated levels of inflammation, as measured by higher levels of C-reactive
protein, even among normal, healthy teens.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International