LEVELS OF CERTAIN HORMONES MAY BE INCREASED BY STRESS

CHICAGO—Higher levels of certain hormones may be associated with stress, and can influence a person's ability to cope with the negative effects of stress, according to an article in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to information in the article, dehydroepiandrosterone-S (DHEA-S) is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is believed to be secreted in response to stress. DHEA-S may also provide beneficial effects, such as enhancing memory and reducing symptoms of depression. In humans, levels of DHEA-S peak around the ages of 20-25 years, and then decline to 20 percent to 30 percent of the peak values at ages 70 to 80 years.

Charles A. Morgan III, M.D., M.A., of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans Affairs New England Healthcare System, West Haven, Conn., and colleagues investigated levels of DHEA-S and the DHEA-S-cortisol ratio (cortisol is another hormone, and the DHEA-S-cortisol ratio may play a role in lessening the impact of stress) among 25 military personnel (average age, 25 years) before and after undergoing stressful scenarios as part of military survival school.

Five days before being exposed to the stressful scenario, blood and saliva samples were taken from the participants and DHEA-S and cortisol levels were measured. Participants also completed a survey rating their symptoms of dissociation, or how in touch (or out of touch) they felt with their environments. During the stressful phase of the study, participants were confined in a mock prisoner of war camp (POWC) where they were interrogated and experienced food and sleep depravation.

Immediately following the 30-minute interrogation phase, blood and saliva samples were taken again, and participants filled out the same survey again.

The researchers found that "The DHEA-S-cortisol ratios during stress were significantly higher in subjects who reported fewer symptoms of dissociation and exhibited superior military performance," the researchers write.

"These data provide prospective, empirical evidence that the DHEA-S level is increased by acute stress in healthy humans and that the DHEA-S-cortisol ratio may index [indicate] the degree to which an individual is buffered against the negative effects of stress," write the authors

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To contact Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D., call the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Press Office at 301/443-3860.

SUBSTANCE USE AND MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS AMONG THE MOST PREVALENT PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN THE UNITED STATES

CHICAGO—Substance abuse and mood and anxiety disorders that arise independently of substance abuse and withdrawal are some of the most common psychiatric disorders in the United States, according to an article in the August issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

According to information in the article, substance use and mood and anxiety disorders are widespread in the general population and are associated with substantial societal and personal costs.

Bridget F. Grant, Ph.D., Ph.D., of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues investigated the prevalence and co-occurrence of alcohol and drug use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders (not caused by substance use or general medical conditions).

The researchers looked at the results of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a major national survey of 43,093 non-institutionalized United States residents aged 18 or older. The survey was conducted in 2001-2002 and asked about substance use and mood and anxiety disorders over the previous 12 months.

The researchers found that the prevalences of independent mood and anxiety disorders in the U.S. population were 9.21 percent and 11.08 percent, respectively. The rate of substance use disorders was 9.35 percent. Additionally, they found that "Only a few individuals with mood or anxiety disorders were classified as having only substance-induced disorders," but that associations between substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders were significant.

"The major findings of this study document the extremely high rates of substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders in the U.S. population, and confirm the strength of associations between them," the authors write.