Psychology Space

BEIJING, Nov. 24 — A new study by the American Psychological Association has found that mental stress over a period of time can raise a person’s lipid levels, or in other words, it can increase cholesterol levels in healthy adults.

According to the study, published in the recent issue of Health Psychology, in a sample of 199 healthy middle-aged men and women, researchers Andrew Steptoe, D.Sc., and Lena Brydon of University College London examined how individuals react to stress and whether this reaction can increase cholesterol and heighten cardiovascular risk in the future.

“Our study found that individuals vary in their cholesterol responses to stress,” says Dr. Steptoe. “Some of the participants show large increases even in the short term, while others show very little response. The cholesterol responses that we measured in the lab probably reflect the way people react to challenges in everyday life, as well. So the larger cholesterol responders to stress tasks will be large responders to emotional situations in their lives.

The researchers speculate on the reasons why acute stress responses may raise fasting serum lipids. One possibility may be that stress encourages the body to produce more energy in the form of metabolic fuels - fatty acids and glucose.

These substances require the liver to produce and secrete more LDL, which is the principal carrier of cholesterol in the blood. nother reason may be that stress interferes with lipid clearance and a third possibility could be that stress increases production of a number of inflammatory processes like, interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor and C-Reactive protein that also increase lipid production.

Although no one understands the cause of the reaction, the researchers said the study could help pinpoint people who are at a greater risk for heart disease. Enditem

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