BUFFALO, N.Y., Jul 23, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Stress and depression may cause
asthma in young people to worsen, U.S. researchers say.
The study, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, finds
depressed children with asthma are more likely to exhibit a dysregulation of the
autonomic nervous system along with increased airway compromise.
The study led by Dr. Bruce Miller and Beatrice Wood, both of the University of
Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in New York involved 90
children with asthma, ages 7-17.
Forty-five asthmatic children with symptoms of depression were compared with 45
asthmatic children without symptoms of depression. Both groups viewed scary,
very sad and happy scenes from the movie "E.T.: The Extraterrestrial."
The researchers monitored heart and respiratory function. They also assessed
airway function before the movie, after the death scene and after the movie.
"The depressed group consistently showed greater parasympathetic activation
along with decreased sympathetic activation in response to the emotional
provocations -- a pattern that would have a detrimental effect on the airways,"
Miller said in a statement.
"In contrast, the group without symptoms of depression showed consistent
activation of the sympathetic pathway, which would support better airway
function under stress."
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