A 5 page research paper dealing with current research on the effect of emotion and psychological states on asthma. This literature review explores recent studies into the effect of emotional stressors on asthma management in order to answer the question of what research is revealing about the role of emotion on the development and management of this disease. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khasemo.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
that asthma is a psychological illness (Koenig and Chesia, 2004). It has been established that asthma results from complex interaction between "airway inflammation, obstruction and hyper-responsiveness that is triggered by
infectious agents, allergens, irritants and/or emotional stressors" (Koenig and Chesia, 2004, p. 58). In other words, while the cause of asthma is not purely psychological, emotional factors do play a
role in whether or not irritants, allergens, or other factors succeed in causing an asthma attack. The following literature review explores recent studies into the effect of emotional stressors
on asthma management in order to answer the question of what research is revealing about the role of emotion on the development and management of this disease. Wright (2004)
conducted an extensive review of literature on this topic, which included independent searches of MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE, Cochrane Library and PSYCHINFO. Within these databases, searches were performed separately for psychological
stress and asthma, in addition to other relevant factors, which was not limited to the language of publication. Wright (2004) points out that scholarly reference that discus the significance of
emotional and psychological states in relation to asthma incidence date back to antiquity. Research indicates that stress can acerbate bronchial construction in both asthmatic children and adults. When asthmatics are
subjected to stressful experiences, such as performing "mental arithmetic tasks, watching emotionally charged films and listening to stressful interactions," 15 to 30 percent respond with asthmatic symptoms and increased bronchial
restriction (Wright, 2004, p. 518). Hormones and neuropeptides that are released as a stress reaction into the circulatory system and believed to be involved in regulating inflammatory and airway responses
(Wright, 2004). This suggests that mechanism that may be involved in the stress reaction experienced by many asthmatics. Eisner, et al (2005) point out that despite the development of