View clinical trials related to Stress, Physiological.
Filter by:The goal of this observational study is to define a personalized risk model in the super healthy and homogeneous population of Italian Air Force high-performance pilots. This peculiar cohort conducts dynamic activities in an extreme environment, compared to a population of military people not involved in flight activity. The study integrates the analyses of biological samples (urine, blood, and saliva), clinical records, and occupational data collected at different time points and analyzed by omic-based approaches supported by Artificial Intelligence. Data resulting from the study will clarify many etiopathological mechanisms of diseases, allowing the creation of a model of analyses that can be extended to the civilian population and patient cohorts for the potentiation of precision and preventive medicine.
It is well-accepted that an exaggerated blood pressure (BP) response to physical stress has a prognostic value, indicating a higher cardiovascular risk (e.g., sudden cardiac death, myocardial infarction, future hypertension, and left ventricular hypertrophy). However, there is a limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms and therapuetic strategies modulating this response. Therefore, this pilot project aims to explore whether one session of low-volume high-intensity interval training (low-volume HIIT) or combined intermittent heat and cold bath (sauna+cold bath) can decrease BP responses to physical stress. Furthermore, the secondary goal is to investigate whether one brief session learning about positive stress expectations magnifies the decrease in BP following low-volume HIIT and sauna+ cold bath.
The proposed study uses an experimental design to establish causal support for the role of internalized stress, pertaining to uncertainty with regard to one's sexual orientation, in contributing to heavy drinking behavior. Following exposure to internalized sexual stigma, physiological and psychological stress responses are expected to increase alcohol consumption in adults who are uncertain about their sexual orientation, especially among females, and following consumption, the physiological effects of ethanol and beliefs about the effects of alcohol are expected to alter relations between exposure to sexual stigma and the alleviation of psychological distress. Showing that physiological stress responses, whether driven by the pharmacological effects of ethanol or expectancies regarding its effects, can account for known alcohol-use disparities, particularly in bisexual/bi+ communities, would contribute a great deal to knowledge on the biology of addiction and inform subsequent interventions that seek to regulate stress reactivity.
Background The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is a valid and gold standard way for inducing psychosocial stress and is widely used in research and diagnostics. One of the downsides of the TSST is the difficulty to maintain the same experimental conditions repeatedly. A TSST in virtual reality (TSST-VR) is constant and requires far less time and personnel. Our TSST-VR version consist of three stress levels (no stress, moderate stress, high stress), a novelty in this field. Aim The aim is to investigate whether there is a statistically significantly greater increase directly after the TSST-VR in psychological and physiological stress parameters in the moderate and high stress levels compared to the no stress condition (control). Method A randomized controlled trial is conducted in healthy adults, with the three stress levels as conditions. Cortisol and questionnaires on anxiety and physical arousal are measured at baseline, during and after the TSST. Heart rate is measured continuously and adverse events are monitored.
Ethnic discrimination is associated with mental and physical health impairments. In view of the negative impact of discrimination on health, it is of great importance to investigate interventions to counteract these negative effects. Based on findings of a pilot study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04957966), this study investigates the effectiveness of a tailored ecological momentary music intervention to reduce biological (salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase) and psychological (perceived stress, perceived ethnic discrimination) stress reactions after discriminatory and/or stressful events in the daily life of Turkish immigrant women (N = 50, age range 18-65 years). An intra-individually randomized design will be used, i.e., participants will be assigned on a random basis either to intervention events (they can choose to listen to music for the duration of 10 or 20 minutes) or to control events (participants are instructed to not listen to music). The whole study period consists of 35 days with a baseline period (week 1), intervention period (week 2-4), and post period (week 5).
Police officers are exposed to hazardous, disturbing events that impose stress and long-term trauma. Upwards of 15-26% of public safety personnel (PSP) report one or more mental health symptoms. Accumulated stress and posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI) result in chronic physical and mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and cardiovascular disease. PTSI are related to reduced occupational performance, absenteeism, and risky behaviour, with implications for both police and public safety. Recent empirical evidence and government reports highlight a mental health and suicide crisis among various PSP sectors in Canada. Prior research forms an urgent call for evidence-based programs that build resilience and wellness capacity to prevent PTSI symptoms before they manifest as severe, chronic, diagnosable disorders. The current study addresses the limited effectiveness issues associated with existing interventions for PTSI among PSP and also considers sex and gender as central determinants of health. Advances in physiology and neuroscience demonstrate that resilience is maintained by the healthy functioning of psychophysiological systems within the body. Objective biological measures have shown that chronic stress and trauma disrupt both psychological and physiological functioning, eroding resilience and reducing wellness capacity. Traditional interventions to build resilience among PSP have not adequately addressed the physiological underpinnings that lead to mental and physical health conditions, as well as burnout and fatigue following trauma. Together with previous empirical research lead by the NPA, the current proposal addresses this gap in PSP intervention research by employing Autonomic Modulation Training (AMT), a biological approach to building resilience and wellness capacity among PSP exposed to PTSI. Prior research shows that core AMT techniques effectively reduce psychophysiological stress and mental health symptoms in clinical and non-clinical populations. Further, research has shown that AMT techniques improve police health and occupational performance when completed during scenario-based, in-person training. The aim of the proposed study is to test if a web-based delivery of AMT for police officers can build resilience and wellness capacity, and reduce symptoms of PTSI with similar effectiveness as in-person training. An additional novel scientific contribution of the current proposal includes an examination of sex and gender in baseline biological presentation of PTSI among police, and in response to a resilience building intervention.
Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs) are specialized United States Army units formed to train, advise, assist, enable and accompany operations with allied and partner nations. Security Force Assistance Brigades are composed of roughly 800 senior military personnel, primarily commissioned and non-commissioned officers selected from regular Army units across a wide range of military specialties. Because of the high operational tempo (OPTEMPO) of these units, individual resiliency is of utmost importance in maintaining readiness to successfully execute critical, high-stress missions. Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) is an evidence-based intervention with strong potential to enhance resiliency by bolstering psychological flexibility along with other factors which have been demonstrated to optimize individual and group performance. This project will compare an Acceptance and Commitment Training-based resiliency-enhancement training program as compared to training as usual in 600 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigades soldiers stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. Assessment measures related to resilience will be administered before and after training as well as before and after deployment. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, and every 4 months thereafter for a total of 16-months.
This randomized, parallel study will examine the effects of energy balance and varying magnitudes of energy deficit on 1) the protein kinetic responses to consuming high quality protein and 2) carbohydrate oxidation during steady-state exercise. Healthy adults, representative of active duty military personnel, will complete a 2 d energy balance phase followed by a randomly assigned, 5 d energy deficit phase (n=15 per group; 20%, 40% and 60% energy deficit). At the end of each energy phase the effects of energy balance and energy deficit severity on resting postabsorptive (fasting) and postprandial (after consuming ~34 g protein) muscle protein synthesis (MPS) and whole-body protein synthesis, breakdown, and balance (synthesis - breakdown) will be determined. On the next day, the effects energy balance and energy deficit severity on carbohydrate oxidation during steady-state exercise will be determined. Primary study procedures include anthropometric and body composition measures, resting metabolic rate measures, aerobic exercise, tightly controlled diet and exercise interventions, repeated blood sampling, stable isotope infusion, stable isotope ingestion, and percutaneous muscle biopsies. The following hypotheses will be tested: 1) Δ (postprandial - postabsorptive) MPS and Δ whole-body protein balance at rest will progressively decrease as magnitude of energy deficit increases and 2) exogenous carbohydrate oxidation will be higher and endogenous carbohydrate oxidation will be lower during steady-state exercise as magnitude of energy deficit increases.
Chronic widespread pain (CWP) is a common chronic pain condition in youth and often associated with significant pain-related and psychosocial impairment. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that may underlie pediatric chronic pain and pain-related impairment can inform future treatments to ameliorate patients' suffering, making it a critical area of empirical investigation.
Objective: To investigate the effect of aromatherapy on blood pressure and stress response by inhalation and foot massage in individuals with essential hypertension. Methods: The randomized controlled trial is performed with 69 individuals diagnosed with essential hypertension hospitalized. There are two interventions (group 1: aromatherapy-inhalation method, group 2: aromatherapy-foot massage) and a control group in the study. Blood pressure is measured with a digital sphygmomanometer after 10 minutes of rest; stress response is determined by heart rate, blood cortisol levels and anxiety scale. Aromatherapy with lavender oil is applied to the intervention groups; no application is made to the control group and routine follow-up at the hospital continued.