Psychophysiological Responses to Stress Related to Anxiety in Healthy Aging

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of situational stress and anxiety in a group of healthy elderly, both in terms of psychophysiological correlates and cognitive performance. Eighteen participants ( Mage = 70 ± 6.3; range 60–85) were assessed for anxiety and were instructed to perform a computerized math task, under both a stressful and a control condition, while near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) signal and electrocardiography (ECG) were recorded. NIRS results evidenced an increased activation of right PFC during the entire procedure, even if effect sizes between left and right channels were larger during the experimental condition. The amount of right activation during the stressful condition was positively correlated with anxiety. Response times (RTs) were slower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, both during the control and stressful conditions. Accuracy was lower in more anxious than in less anxious individuals, only during the stressful condition. Moreover, heart rate (HR) was not modulated by situational stress, nor by anxiety. Overall, the present study suggests that in healthy elderly, anxiety level has a significant impact on cerebral responses, and both on the amount of cognitive resources and the quality of performance in stressful situations.

A Comparative Study of Stress and Alienation among Orphans and Normal

The present study was undertaken to investigate, (1) Is there any relationship between stress and alienation? (2) Is there any difference between orphans and normal with respect to stress? (3) Is there any difference among orphans and normal with respect to alienation? In addition to these main objectives of the present research are, (1) To find out any relationship between stress and alienation, (2) To find out whether or not orphans and normal significantly differ with respect to stress, (3) To find out whether or not orphans and normal significantly differ with respect to alienation. In this study 40 subjects in each group were analysed which means that there are total 80 subjects in this study. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, Cohen et. al., 1983) and Alienation Scale by R. V. Patil were used for the collection of data. In order to find out these objectives Pearson correlation and t-test was applied. The results indicated that stress and alienation are highly correlated with each other which means that when a person is under stressful condition they automatically get into alienated and vice versa. Results from t-test clearly show that orphans are higher in alienation and stress in comparison to normal.

A Comparative Study of Stress and Alienation among Orphans and Normal

The present study was undertaken to investigate, (1) Is there any relationship between stress and alienation? (2) Is there any difference between orphans and normal with respect to stress? (3) Is there any difference among orphans and normal with respect to alienation? In addition to these main objectives of the present research are, (1) To find out any relationship between stress and alienation, (2) To find out whether or not orphans and normal significantly differ with respect to stress, (3) To find out whether or not orphans and normal significantly differ with respect to alienation. In this study 40 subjects in each group were analysed which means that there are total 80 subjects in this study. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, Cohen et. al., 1983) and Alienation Scale by R. V. Patil were used for the collection of data. In order to find out these objectives Pearson correlation and t-test was applied. The results indicated that stress and alienation are highly correlated with each other which means that when a person is under stressful condition they automatically get into alienated and vice versa. Results from t-test clearly show that orphans are higher in alienation and stress in comparison to normal.

Prevalence, awareness and risk factors of hypertension in Hmawbi Cantonment Area, Yangon Region, Myanmar

Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for global mortality. A community based cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in Hmawbi Cantonment Area, Yangon Region in November, 2015. This study aimed to identify the prevalence, awareness and risk factors of hypertension concerning smoking, alcohol dinking, eating food pattern, taking regular exercise, stressful condition and body mass index (BMI). The sample consisted of 210 respondents from three Units (Light Infantry Regiments) were randomly selected to participate in the study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. It was found that 33.3% of respondents had hypertension; 55.7% achieved good awareness on hypertension as well; 16.7% respondents were current smoker; 7.6% had the history of alcohol drinking; 67.1% respondents took regular exercise; 29.5% respondents were in stressful condition; 32.9% re-spondents were overweight and 19.5% were obese. Hypertension was significantly associated with age (p-0.001), family income (p<0.001), awareness level (p-0.01), current smoking status (p<0.001), alcohol drinking (p<0.001), regular exercise taking (p<0.001), stressful condition (p<0.001), and increase BMI (p<0.001) of respondents. This setting in Hmawbi evidenced that age, family income, smoking, alcohol drinking, consumption of salty and fast food, stressful condition and increase BMI were identified as risk factors and taking regular exercise was protective. Over-all, over 50% of respondents having good awareness show that favorable circumstances exist for further strengthening the hypertension prevention and control program. These findings have implications for future public health interven-tion and clinical efforts to decrease the prevalence of hypertension among population.South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.6(1) 2016: 20-26