Kelly Megan M, Tyrka Audrey R, Anderson George M, Price Lawrence H, Carpenter Linda L
Mood Disorders Research Program, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Butler Hospital, Brown Medical School, 345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2008 Mar;39(1):87-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2007.02.003. Epub 2007 Mar 12.
Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety-related disorders, and it has been hypothesized that this difference is related to sex differences in stress reactivity. Women typically report higher levels of negative affect than men in response to psychosocial stressors, but the evidence for sex differences in physiological reactivity to stressful situations is not consistent. The present study sought to expand this work by evaluating sex differences in reactivity to a social stress challenge across neuroendocrine, autonomic and affective response domains. Participants (32 women, 30 men) completed a standardized psychosocial stress challenge (i.e., the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST)), during which several physiological (e.g., cortisol reactivity, heart rate) and psychological (e.g., depression, irritability, anger, fear) measures were assessed. The findings demonstrated that cortisol reactivity and the magnitude of autonomic responding failed to reliably discriminate between women and men. However, women reported more fear, irritability, confusion and less happiness immediately following the TSST compared to men. The broader implications of these results and how they relate to sex differences in the etiology and clinical presentation of anxiety and mood disorders are discussed.
女性比男性更易被诊断出患有抑郁症和焦虑相关障碍，据推测，这种差异与应激反应的性别差异有关。面对心理社会应激源时，女性通常比男性报告更高水平的负面情绪，但关于应激情况下生理反应存在性别差异的证据并不一致。本研究试图通过评估在神经内分泌、自主神经和情感反应领域对社会应激挑战的反应中的性别差异来拓展这项工作。参与者（32名女性，30名男性）完成了一项标准化的心理社会应激挑战（即特里尔社会应激测试（TSST）），在此期间评估了多项生理指标（如皮质醇反应、心率）和心理指标（如抑郁、易怒、愤怒、恐惧）。研究结果表明，皮质醇反应和自主神经反应的程度无法可靠地区分女性和男性。然而，与男性相比，女性在TSST后立即报告有更多的恐惧、易怒、困惑，且幸福感更低。本文讨论了这些结果的更广泛意义以及它们与焦虑和情绪障碍的病因及临床表现中的性别差异之间的关系。
