[Stress Related Determinants for Severity of Depression in Young Girls]. / Stressbezogene Determinanten für den Schweregrad einer Depression bei jungen Mädchen.

Based on former empirical studies and theoretical considerations the present study investigated, whether stress load and stress coping are influencing severity of depression over time in young girls. Stepwise multiple regression with different specific predictors was used to obtain the best predictive power. 148 girls with a mean age of 15 years where studied. 74 fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for major depression. Stress symptoms and stress coping was measured with SSKJ 3-8 and SVFKJ. The best predictor after a time interval of six months was severity of depression at first assessment with an explained variance of 62 %. Psychological stress load and destructive stress coping also added significantly to explained variance in depression severity. The results were interpreted with respect to treatment and prevention of depression in adolescents.

Stress-Induced Release of Eating-Related Hormones in Young Women Classified as Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Restrained eating has been linked to binge eating under disinhibited circumstances and is therefore considered a risk factor to develop clinical eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. The present study investigated the release of gastrointestinal peptides such as ghrelin and PYY after stress, as well as cortisol in young females classified as restrained and unrestrained eaters. METHODS: The study was done in the laboratory of the Department for Biological and Clinical Psychology at the University of Trier. The sample consisted of 48 females, and the stressor was the Trier Social Stress Test. Blood samples for peptides and salivary cortisol were taken. RESULTS: Higher ghrelin, but lower cortisol after stress was obtained for restrained eaters; no stress-related changes for PYY were observed. CONCLUSION: Restrained eaters suffer from a possible stress-related biological dysregulation of eating, posing them at risk for eating and weight disorders.

[Stress related correlates of anxiety and depression in girls with chronic headache]. / Stressbezogene Korrelate von Angst und Depression bei Mädchen mit chronischen Kopfschmerzen.

Chronic headache in adolescents is frequent and often associated with anxiety and depression. The present study investigated, whether psychological and physical stress symptoms have an infl uence on the occurrence of anxiety and depression and what is the role of stress coping. The sample consisted of 77 15 years old girls with chronic headache and 72 girls, who served as controls. Stress symptoms and stress coping were measured with the Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen für Kinder und Jugendliche (Coping with Stress Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents), depression was assessed by the Depression Inventory for Children and Adolescents, anxiety by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between stress factors and anxiety resp. depression. Physical stress symptoms were related to anxiety, but not to depression. Coping strategies of the depressed as well as the anxious children were characterized by stress reinforcing behaviors. The results point to focusing on physical symptoms in the anxious headache patients and to avoidance coping in the depressed children.

Stress does not affect ghrelin secretion in obese and normal weight women.

Stress has been supposed to increase appetite. The biological basis of this phenomenon may be a stress-induced alteration of the secretion of GUT peptides such as ghrelin. Stress-induced changes in ghrelin secretion could be a biological basis of overeating and a factor contributing to the development of obesity. Aim of the study was to analyze the effect of acute psychosocial stress on ghrelin secretion in obese and normal weight women. We compared pre- and postprandial plasma ghrelin secretion of 42 obese and 43 normal weight women in a randomized crossover design. Ghrelin and cortisol concentrations were measured and ratings of stress were also recorded in response to a psychological stressor (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). Ghrelin samples were collected in the fasting state one time before participating in the TSST and one time before a control session. After the TSST, respectively, control session participants had a standardized ad libitum meal. 30 and 60 min after the TSST, respectively, control session preprandial ghrelin was measured again. Obese women showed lower pre- and postprandial release of ghrelin than normal weight controls. Moreover, obese women showed inhibited postprandial decrease of ghrelin secretion. Stress did not affect postprandial ghrelin secretion, but inhibited food intake in all subjects. The present data provide further evidence of altered ghrelin release in obesity. Acute stress did not affect postprandial ghrelin secretion, but inhibited food intake in all subjects. Results are discussed with regard to biological and psychological regulation of hunger and satiety in obesity.

Stress-related cortisol response and laboratory eating behavior in obese women.

Stress-related cortisol secretion has been linked to increased appetite and subsequent food intake in overweight individuals. The present study addresses this relationship in a repeated-measures randomized controlled laboratory experiment. Nineteen obese women were compared to 36 normal weight controls with respect to stress-induced salivary cortisol and laboratory eating behavior, measured by a universal eating monitor. The trier social stress test served as stressor. Stress-induced cortisol levels were significantly higher in the obese compared to the normal weight controls. Unexpectedly, a corresponding increase in laboratory food intake was not detected. The results are interpreted and discussed with regard to restrained eating, which was found to be present to a significant degree in the obese women.

Stress inhibits PYY secretion in obese and normal weight women.

The impact of stress on circulating levels of appetite-regulating hormones remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of acute psychosocial stress on the gut hormone peptide YY (PYY) secretion in obese and normal weight women. Therefore, we compared pre- and post-prandial plasma PYY secretion of 42 obese and 43 normal weight women in a repeated measure randomized controlled laboratory experiment. PYY and cortisol concentrations were measured and ratings of stress and satiety were also recorded in response to a psychological stressor (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). PYY samples were collected in the fasting state both before participating in the TSST and before a control session. Participants had a standardized meal after the TSST and control session, respectively. PYY was measured both 30 and 60 min after the TSST and control session, respectively. Stress inhibited PYY secretion as well as food intake in all women, but did not influence subjective satiety perception. The present data indicate that despite of lower PYY levels the subjects' requirement to overeat was not increased. From an evolutionary perspective this finding is adaptive. After stress the organism is prepared for fight or flight reaction, whereas not primarily necessary functions are inhibited. Therefore, increased food intake during stress would be dysfunctional.

Stress-induced release of GUT peptides in young women classified as restrained or unrestrained eaters.

Basal release of GUT peptides has been found to be altered in restrained eaters. Stress-induced secretion, however, has not yet been described, but could be a biological basis of overeating that exposes restrained eaters to a higher risk of becoming obese. The aim of the present study was to compare restrained and unrestrained eaters with respect to stress-induced release of the GUT peptides ghrelin and PYY. 46 young women were studied. Blood sampling for peptides was done before and after the Trier Social Stress Test. Ghrelin secretion after stress was significantly elevated in the restrained eaters, whereas no significant differences were detected for PYY. Stress-induced release of GUT peptides can be interpreted as a cause as well as a consequence of restrained eating.

[Stress-related risk factors for depression in girls]. / Stressbezogene Determinanten für die Aufrechterhaltung von Depressionen bei Mädchen.

Major depression is a frequent psychiatric disorder among adolescents. Stress-related approaches to adolescent depression postulate acute or chronic stressors as a cause of as well as a consequence of depressive symptomatology. Stress situations persist because the child uses mainly unfavorable stress-coping strategies. The present study investigates stress-related risk factors for the maintenance of depression in 68 young girls in a longitudinal design with two measurement points. Stress load and stress coping were assessed by the Fragebogen zur Erhebung von Stress und Stressbewältigung im Kindes- und Jugendalter (SSKJ). Data on stress-induced salivary cortisol and cortisol-awakening response at first measurement point were also available. A logistic regression model tested the relative contribution of stress-related risk factors. Significant effects were obtained for avoidant coping, a high psychological stress load, and a high stress vulnerability, while physical complaints and cortisol were not relevant. These results confirm theories that postulate stress load and stress coping as causal links for maintenance of depression in youth.

Physical complaints in girls with major depression--a controlled study.

Major depression is a frequent affective disorder in young adolescents. Patients do not only suffer from severe psychological but also from physical impairments. Aim of the present study is a description of physical complaints in girls with major depression. Seventy-three patients fulfilling DSM-IV criteria for major depression were compared to 72 controls. Physical complaints were assessed by a standardised and validated German questionnaire (Giessen Scale of Physical Complaints in Children and Adolescents). Patients reported significantly more complaints, in particular exhaustion and circulation problems. Physical problems are more likely to be a consequence rather than a cause of depression. Treatment of adolescents׳ depression should consider coping with body dysfunction during depressive episodes.

[Stress symptoms and stress coping in depressed girls]. / Stressbezogene Symptome und Stressverarbeitung bei depressiven Mädchen.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive disorders occur frequently in adolescents. Maintenance of depression has been related to stress and stress coping. METHOD: The study describes which stress load and which strategies of stress coping are present in girls with major depression. 74 girls with major depression were compared to a normal control group with regard to stress symptoms and stress coping. All subjects were diagnosed with a structured clinical interview according to DSM-IV criteria. Stress and stress coping strategies were measured by standardized and validated questionnaires. RESULTS: Girls with major depression had more symptoms of stress and were characterized by inadequate stress coping compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: These cross-sectional data show deficits in stress coping that might reinforce stress symptoms as well as degree of depression. However, cause and effect can only be clarified by a longitudinal design.

No evidence for effects of negative emotions on eating behaviour in overweight children.

Negative emotions have been hypothesised to trigger a short-term eating pattern in the obese that leads to a high calorie intake. The present study induced emotions of different quality (negative, neutral, positive) and compared laboratory eating behaviour in overweight and normal weight children. No significant emotion related differences in cumulative food intake curves during a laboratory meal were found. Results point to an adequate regulation of hunger and satiety in children, which possibly cannot be maintained during adulthood.

Stress-induced laboratory eating behavior in obese women with binge eating disorder.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the microstructural eating behavior of obese patients with and without binge eating disorder (BED) after stress induction in laboratory. METHOD: Forty-eight obese women were investigated. Seventeen were assigned to the group of BED. Group (BED vs. non-BED) by condition (stress vs. no stress) interaction effect on feeding variables, measured by a universal eating monitor, was tested. Stress was induced by the trier social stress test (TSST) and chocolate pudding served as laboratory food. RESULTS: From the nonstress to the stress condition, patients with BED, when compared with non-BED had a greater increase in average eating rate (p < .01) and a corresponding greater increase in the frequency of spoonfuls (p < .02). The BED group also showed a different change in acceleration/deceleration from the nonstress to the stress condition compared to the non-BED group (p < .04). DISCUSSION: Obese individuals with BED appear to exhibit a different response to stress than obese non-BED individuals and individuals with bulimia nervosa.

Resting metabolic rate in young women classified as restrained or unrestrained eaters.

Restrained eating involves a mainly cognitive control of eating behaviour and has been supposed to be a predisposing factor for the development of eating disorders. Biological correlates of the behaviour are expected, too. The present study investigated resting metabolic rate in 33 female restrained and unrestrained eaters. Measured by indirect calorimetry RMR showed a significant negative relationship to the degree of dietary restraint (controlled for BMI, partial r=-.46, p<.01). The lower energy requirements of restrained eaters might be genetically predisposed, but also might have severe consequences in nonclinical and clinical groups.

Laboratory eating behavior in obesity.

The eating behavior of 49 obese and 47 normal weight controls of both sexes was compared in laboratory. A universal eating monitor according to the Kissileff-instrument was used to obtain cumulative intake curves with chocolate pudding as laboratory food. Compared to controls the obese had a significantly higher initial eating rate (p<.002), larger spoonfuls (p<.005), and a greater total intake (p<.03) for the laboratory food. For initial eating rate a significant sex x weight interaction was found (p<.04). Higher values for males emerged only for overweight, but not for normal weight subjects. On the one hand, these data suggest an eating behavior of obese, which will promote a high energy intake in the natural environment. On the other hand, the observed differences can also be interpreted as a consequence of cognitive factors, impacting the eating behavior of obese under specific conditions.