| Roman Bystrianyk 2005-05-04, 10:45 pm |
| http://www.healthsentinel.com/news....ist_item&id=792
"Stress and mood predict kid's arthritis symptoms", Reuters, May 4,
2005,
Link:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle....storyID=8391426
In children with arthritis, stress and mood are important predictors of
disease symptoms, research shows, suggesting that non-drug
interventions, such as stress management and cognitive behavioral
therapy, may be useful in ameliorating symptoms.
Childhood arthritis is characterized by unpredictable flares of disease
symptoms such as pain, morning stiffness, fatigue, and sleep troubles.
And while researchers have long suspected a link between psychosocial
stress, mood, pain, and disease flares in childhood arthritis, these
relationships have not been studied adequately.
Therefore, Dr. Laura E. Schanberg of Duke university Medical Center,
Durham, North Carolina, and colleagues looked for patterns of stress,
mood, disease symptoms and reduced activity in 51 children with
arthritis.
For 2 months, the children kept a daily log of their symptoms as well
as their mood and doctors rated the children's functional status and
disease activity at baseline and during follow up.
The children reported pain, stiffness, and fatigue on more than 70
percent of days, despite use of pain medication, the researchers
report. Moreover, the researchers observed significant same-day
relationships between stress, mood, and disease symptoms.
For example, daily fluctuations in both stress and mood predicted
increased pain, stiffness, and fatigue. There was a significant
association between increases in daily stress, mood and disease
symptoms and decreased participation in social activities on a
day-to-day basis. Only mood and stiffness predicted a cutback in school
attendance.
"Our data underscore the importance of day-to-day symptoms reported by
children with arthritis," the investigators write. Aggressive treatment
of pain, stiffness, and fatigue, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy,
relaxation, and stress management, should be considered, they add.
SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism April 2005.
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