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Differences in hormonal responses to preoperative emotional stress between preschool and school children
Author(s) -
AONO J.,
UEDA W.,
KATAOKA Y.,
MANABE M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.1997.tb04670.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hormone , anxiety , emotional stress , hydrocortisone , physiology , endocrinology , psychiatry
Background: The behavior of children under emotional stress differs according to whether they are of preschool or school age. Methods: To examine the effect of age on hormonal responses to preoperative emotional stress, we measured the concentrations of catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) and cortisol in 56 healthy boys before surgery. Results: Among preschool boys (3–5 years old), those showing anxious behavior showed significantly higher cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline concentrations in the blood circulation than those not showing such behavior ( P <0.0001, P <0.0001 and P <0.005, respectively). However, among the schoolboys (6–11 years old), anxiety was associated only with the cortisol concentration ( P <0.01) Conclusions: Hormonal responses to preoperative emotional stress in preschool boys differ from those in schoolboys.