Research led by Peggy Zoccola, Ph.D., an assistant
professor of psychology at Ohio University, has
found that dwelling upon events that are stressful
can significantly increase inflammatory chemicals
in the body. The researchers tested 34 healthy young
women giving public presentations for job interviews.
Afterward, half were asked to contemplate their
performances while the others were asked to think
about neutral events and images.
While all of the women initially experienced significantly higher levels of
C-reactive protein (CRP), the levels continued to rise for at least one hour afterward
for the performance-ruminating group, but returned to normal during the same time
period for those that pondered neutral thoughts.
CRP is produced in the liver and is known to rise following an injury or in a
chronic inflammatory condition. “The immune system plays an important role in
various cardiovascular disorders such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia
and autoimmune diseases,” states Zoccola.
