WSchmitt_Annotation11_StressDepressionandChildhoodAsthma

This article is a news release from University at Buffalo describing the findings of "Bruce D. Miller, M.D., and Beatrice L. Wood, Ph.D., professors of psychiatry and pediatrics in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences." This study shows how depression increases asthma symptoms. The idea is that depression affects the part of the nervous system referred to as the autonomic nervous system, the ANS. The ANS controls everything subconscious, and is associated with emotion. The study shows that depression and similar conditions cause a dysregulation of the ANS, which leads in turn to "increased airway compromise." Depression incurs an imbalance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic parts of the ANS, which is believed to cause issues such as airway compromise and asthma. The study compared 45 children with asthma to 45 children without asthma. Using electrodes to monitor heart and respiratory function, the children were shown scenes from E.T. that would invoke various emotions. The observation was that the depressed cohort in the study showed increased parasympathetic activation along with decreased sympathetic activation, which according to Miller, would have "a detrimental effect on the airways." The authors believe this is the first study of its kind linking stress, depression, and airway conditions. "The authors believe these findings indicate the importance of screening children with asthma for depressive symptoms, of following these children closely and referring them for psychosocial counseling when indicated."

SUNY Buffalo. //Stress and Depression Worsen Childhood Asthma, UB Researchers Show//. //The University at Buffalo//. SUNY Buffalo, 10 July 2009. Web. 8 May 2010. <[]>.