Looks at a study of monkeys that shows how damaging stress can be
to women's health. Effect of stress on ovaries; Increased risk for
osteoporosis and heart disease; Researcher Carol Shivel, PhD; Suggestion
that bone-density and hormone-concentration testing be included in
women's annual physicals.
By
PT Staff, published on July 01, 1994
Stress
Some anxious monkeys in North Carolina are showing medical
researchers just how damaging stress can be to women's health. It goes
straight to the ovaries.
Like humans, monkeys show signs of stress physically and
behaviorally when having to organize their social life. In the monkey
world, it's a matter of jockeying for social position in groups.
While constantly scanning their environment for signs of aggression
from big shots, the stressed-out simians oversecrete stress-related
hormones in their brains, which in turn throw their ovaries into hormonal
disarray. They not only may become infertile, but they are at higher risk
for osteoporosis and heart disease.
These monkeys have reduced concentrations of estrogen and other
hormones in their menstrual cycles, reports Carol Shivel, Ph.D.,
associate professor of comparative medicine at Bowman Gray School of
Medicine. "The concentrations can be low enough that the uterus couldn't
support a fertilized egg or so low that a person never ovulates." The
estrogen deprivation can lead to atherosclerosis and bone
thinning,disorders that can be prevented with estrogen-replacement
therapy in women.
Here's the most alarming part: The monkeys cycled through the
stress, which obscured any clue to the problem. "One of the only ways
women know their ovaries aren't functioning is if they just stop
cycling," says Shivel.
Even women who have their period can still have ovarian dysfunction
that is significant enough to degenerate the blood vessels i and bones
for decades--and not realize it. The menstrual cycle turns out to be a
very sensitive index of general health.
So relax. It may save your life. But in the meantime, perhaps
bone-density and hormone-concentration testing should be a routine part
of a woman's annual physical.
PHOTO: Estrogen, portrait of an endangered sex hormone.
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