Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad
Soldiers regularly participate in missions abroad and subjectively adapt to this situation. However, they have an increased lifetime cardiovascular risk compared to other occupational groups. To test the hypothesis that foreign deployment results in different stress habituation patterns, we investig...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1011181/full |
| _version_ | 1811177708503171072 |
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| author | Tanja Maier Manuela Rappel Dae-Sup Rhee Sebastian Brill Julia Maderner Friederike Pijahn Harald Gündel Peter Radermacher Benedikt Friemert Horst-Peter Becker Christiane Waller Christiane Waller |
| author_facet | Tanja Maier Manuela Rappel Dae-Sup Rhee Sebastian Brill Julia Maderner Friederike Pijahn Harald Gündel Peter Radermacher Benedikt Friemert Horst-Peter Becker Christiane Waller Christiane Waller |
| author_sort | Tanja Maier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soldiers regularly participate in missions abroad and subjectively adapt to this situation. However, they have an increased lifetime cardiovascular risk compared to other occupational groups. To test the hypothesis that foreign deployment results in different stress habituation patterns, we investigated long-term psychological and bio-physiological stress responses to a repeated social stress task in healthy soldiers with and without foreign deployment. Ninety-one female and male soldiers from the BEST study (German armed forces deployment and stress) participated three times in the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G) prior to, 6–8 weeks after and 1 year after the mission abroad and were compared to a control group without foreign deployment during the study period. They completed the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory scale (STAI), the Primary Appraisal Secondary Appraisal questionnaire (PASA) and the Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire (MDBF). Salivary cortisol and α-amylase, blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability were determined. Soldiers showed mental habituation over the three times with a significant decrease after the TSST-G in anxiousness (STAI) and cognitive stress appraisal (PASA), they were calmer and reported better mood (MDBF). Prior to the social stress part, the mood (MDBF) declined significantly. None of the biological and physiological markers showed any adaptation to the TSST-G. Mission abroad did not significantly influence any measured psychobiological marker when compared to soldiers without foreign deployment. Foreign deployment does not result in alterations in psychobiological social stress response patterns over 1 year after mission abroad which indicates that adaptation to acute social stress is highly maintained in healthy soldiers. The discrepancy between subjective perception and objective stress response has numerous clinical implications and should receive more attention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:05:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d433e1a885b5442f85d00f90cd1e65e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:05:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-d433e1a885b5442f85d00f90cd1e65e42022-12-22T04:41:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-12-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.10111811011181Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroadTanja Maier0Manuela Rappel1Dae-Sup Rhee2Sebastian Brill3Julia Maderner4Friederike Pijahn5Harald Gündel6Peter Radermacher7Benedikt Friemert8Horst-Peter Becker9Christiane Waller10Christiane Waller11Clinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyMilitary Hospital, Ulm, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyInstitute for Anesthesiological Pathophysiology and Process Engineering, Ulm University, Ulm, GermanyMilitary Hospital, Ulm, GermanyMilitary Hospital, Berlin, GermanyClinic for Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Ulm University Medical Center, Ulm, GermanyDepartment of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, GermanySoldiers regularly participate in missions abroad and subjectively adapt to this situation. However, they have an increased lifetime cardiovascular risk compared to other occupational groups. To test the hypothesis that foreign deployment results in different stress habituation patterns, we investigated long-term psychological and bio-physiological stress responses to a repeated social stress task in healthy soldiers with and without foreign deployment. Ninety-one female and male soldiers from the BEST study (German armed forces deployment and stress) participated three times in the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G) prior to, 6–8 weeks after and 1 year after the mission abroad and were compared to a control group without foreign deployment during the study period. They completed the State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory scale (STAI), the Primary Appraisal Secondary Appraisal questionnaire (PASA) and the Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire (MDBF). Salivary cortisol and α-amylase, blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability were determined. Soldiers showed mental habituation over the three times with a significant decrease after the TSST-G in anxiousness (STAI) and cognitive stress appraisal (PASA), they were calmer and reported better mood (MDBF). Prior to the social stress part, the mood (MDBF) declined significantly. None of the biological and physiological markers showed any adaptation to the TSST-G. Mission abroad did not significantly influence any measured psychobiological marker when compared to soldiers without foreign deployment. Foreign deployment does not result in alterations in psychobiological social stress response patterns over 1 year after mission abroad which indicates that adaptation to acute social stress is highly maintained in healthy soldiers. The discrepancy between subjective perception and objective stress response has numerous clinical implications and should receive more attention.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1011181/fullsocial stressmission abroadTSST-Ghabituationbiological stress axis responsesalivary cortisol |
| spellingShingle | Tanja Maier Manuela Rappel Dae-Sup Rhee Sebastian Brill Julia Maderner Friederike Pijahn Harald Gündel Peter Radermacher Benedikt Friemert Horst-Peter Becker Christiane Waller Christiane Waller Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad Frontiers in Psychiatry social stress mission abroad TSST-G habituation biological stress axis response salivary cortisol |
| title | Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| title_full | Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| title_fullStr | Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| title_short | Mental but no bio-physiological long-term habituation to repeated social stress: A study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| title_sort | mental but no bio physiological long term habituation to repeated social stress a study on soldiers and the influence of mission abroad |
| topic | social stress mission abroad TSST-G habituation biological stress axis response salivary cortisol |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1011181/full |
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