Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
Physiol Behav. 2013 Jun 13;118:118-21. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.05.028. Epub 2013 May 18.
Oxidative damage at cellular level is thought to be one of the mechanisms in the pathogenesis of psychological stress (anxiety). The aim of this study was to investigate lipid and protein oxidative damage in exam anxiety conditions. Blood samples were collected in two stages (during the exam period and post vacation) from 51 healthy female students after responding to Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and test anxiety questionnaire. Protein carbonyl, total thiol and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined in serum. Participants reported significantly higher levels of subjective anxiety during the exam period than post vacation. Also the level of total thiol was significantly lower during the exam period compared with post vacation (p<0.001). Meanwhile, protein carbonyl and MDA levels during the exams were significantly higher than those in post-exam period (p<0.01). During the exam period, there was a negative correlation between serum total thiol levels and the severity of anxiety (r=-0.45, p<0.01). A significant positive correlation between the changes in serum protein carbonyl and MDA levels, also between those markers and anxiety score was found during the exam period. The high level of protein carbonyl and MDA, also low level of total thiol during the exam period demonstrated an oxidative damage to proteins and lipids in stress conditions. Our results suggest that oxidative damage to cellular compounds may be one of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety.
细胞水平的氧化损伤被认为是心理应激（焦虑）发病机制之一。本研究旨在探讨考试焦虑状态下的脂质和蛋白质氧化损伤。在贝克焦虑量表（BAI）和考试焦虑问卷回答后，从 51 名健康女性学生中在两个阶段（考试期间和假期后）采集血液样本。在血清中测定蛋白羰基、总巯基和丙二醛（MDA）水平。与假期后相比，参与者在考试期间报告的主观焦虑水平显著更高。此外，与假期后相比，考试期间的总巯基水平显著降低（p<0.001）。同时，考试期间的蛋白羰基和 MDA 水平明显高于考试后（p<0.01）。在考试期间，血清总巯基水平与焦虑严重程度呈负相关（r=-0.45，p<0.01）。在考试期间还发现血清蛋白羰基和 MDA 水平的变化之间以及这些标志物与焦虑评分之间呈显著正相关。在考试期间，蛋白羰基和 MDA 水平升高，总巯基水平降低，表明在应激状态下蛋白质和脂质发生氧化损伤。我们的结果表明，细胞化合物的氧化损伤可能是焦虑发病机制之一。
