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Are anxiety, dejection and confusion "written all over your
face"? Researchers now say that this figure of speech may prove
to be true.
A new study has found that stress appears
to decrease the skin's ability to function properly, heal wounds
and fight disease.
Researchers looked at 27 medical, dental and pharmacy students
at the University of California, San Francisco who all had healthy
skin. The researchers measured levels of anger, confusion, anxiety,
depression, fatigue, and tension on three separate occasions over
8 weeks in 1999, a time period that included two vacations and a
week of examinations.
In that time, the investigators repeatedly applied and stripped
sticky tape from the students' forearms. The researchers then measured
how quickly the participants' skin recovered its ability to essentially
"breathe" properly.
The research team found that skin recovery seemed to be directly
linked to stress levels -- with high stress during exams associated
with the decreased ability of the aggravated skin to return to normal
function.
The authors conclude that they have found the first direct link
between stress and a decline in the ability of the skin to resume
normal functioning after disruption. Aside from recovering from
having sticky tape applied and removed from the skin, this
link may place a stressed-out
individual at greater risk of common skin disease, such
as psoriasis or dermatitis, the report indicates.
Archives of Dermatology January
2001;137:53-59, 78-80
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