BACKGROUND Psychosocial processes are implicated as mediators of racial/ethnic health disparities via dysregulation of physiological responses to stress. Our aim was to investigate the extent to which factors previously documented as buffering the impact of high-risk family environments on Aboriginal youths' psychosocial functioning were similarly beneficial for their physical health status. ...

Introduction: Although many homebound older adults cope well using various resources, including religious coping strategies, some experience prolonged and unresolved psychosocial distress resulting in biological disruptions, such as hypercortisolism and increased inflammation, which are suggested mechanisms of decreased executive function. Purpose: To examine relationships of religious coping, ...

BACKGROUND Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) has a major impact on a woman's psychological and sexual well-being. In most of the studies that addressed treatment techniques, postoperative sexual function was reported to be satisfactory; however, comparatively few studies have additionally provided an accurate analysis of psychosocial functions in MRKHS patients following different...

Background and purpose - Psychosocial factors are important risk factors for poor outcomes in the first year after total knee replacement (TKR), however their impact on long-term outcomes is unclear. We aimed to identify preoperative psychosocial risk factors for poor outcomes at 1 year and 5 years after TKR. Patients and methods - 266 patients were recruited prior to TKR surgery. Knee pain and...

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders of late adulthood, yet little research has examined the impact of epilepsy on the quality of life of older people. Current measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have been developed and used almost exclusively in adults under the age of 65. The issues, which affect HRQOL in younger adults, may differ from those which affect o...

Psychosocial factors may modulate the course of cancer, but few data have been gathered on the biological mechanisms by which these effects may be mediated. We briefly review evidence of psychosocial effects on cancer progression and discuss one potential pathway that may underlie these effects: the disruption of neuroendocrine and immune circadian rhythms. Circadian system alterations occur in...

OBJECTIVE To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) to the general population, and to determine the relationship between HRQOL and clinical and demographic factors. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of observational cohort. SETTING Outpatient clinics of a Midwestern CF center. SUBJECTS One hundred sixty-two subjects with CF aged 5 to 45 years....

While coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, research in the area is lacking, especially concerning psychosocial risk factors. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effect of a known psychosocial risk factor in female monkeys, social status, and the effect of alteration of social status on coronary artery atherosclerosis. In previous experi...