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Systematic review of back schools, brief education, and fear-avoidance training for chronic low back painmore
by H.r Eriksen
Publication Date: 2008
Publication Name: The Spine Journal
Research Interests:
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by Holger Ursin and H.r Eriksen
The association between low socioeconomic status and poor health is well established. Empirical studies suggest that psychosocial factors are important mediators for these effects, and that the effects are mediated by psychobiological... more
The association between low socioeconomic status and poor health is well established. Empirical studies suggest that psychosocial factors are important mediators for these effects, and that the effects are mediated by psychobiological mechanisms related to stress physiology. The objective of this paper is to explore these psychobiological mechanisms. Psychobiological responses to environmental challenges depend on acquired expectancies (learning) of the relations between responses and stimuli. The stress response occurs whenever an individual is faced with a challenge. It is an essential element in the total adaptive system of the body, and necessary for adaptation, performance and survival. However, a period of recovery is necessary to rebalance and to manage new demands. Individuals with low social status report more environmental challenges and less psychosocial resources. This may lead to vicious circles of learning to expect negative outcomes, loss of coping ability, strain, hopelessness and chronic stress. This type of learning may interfere with the recovery processes, leading to sustained psychobiological activation and loss of dynamic capacity to respond to new challenges. Psychobiological responses and health effects in humans and animals depend on combinations of demands and expected outcomes (coping, control). In studies of humans with chronic psychosocial stress, and low SES, cortisol baseline levels were raised, and the cortisol response to acute stress attenuated. Low job control was associated with insufficient recovery of catecholamines and cortisol, and a range of negative health effects. Biological effects of choice of lifestyle, which also depends on the acquired outcome expectancies, reinforce these direct psychobiological effects on health. The paper concludes that sustained activation and loss of capacity to respond to a novel stressor could be a cause of the higher risk of illness and disease found among people with lower SES.
Publication Date: 2004
Publication Name: Social Science & Medicine
Research Interests: Sociology, Anthropology, Life Style, Social Class, Social status, and 16 moreSocial Science & Medicine, TIME, Cortisol, Humans, Stress response, Social Inequalities in Health, Adaptive System, Empirical Study, Socioeconomic Status, Public health systems and services research, Chronic Stress, Time, Psychosocial Stress, Health Effect, Social Science, and Acute stress
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Publication Date: 2002
Publication Name: Occupational Medicine
Research Interests: Stress Management, Occupational Medicine, Exercise therapy, Norway, Workplace, and 10 moreSoftware Design, Humans, Female, Male, Occupational, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Randomized Controlled Trial, Occupational therapy services in mental health services, and Physical Exercise
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by Holger Ursin and H.r Eriksen
This review argues that "subjective health complaints" is a better and neutral term for "unexplained medical symptoms." The most common complaints are musculoskeletal pain, gastrointestinal complaints... more
This review argues that "subjective health complaints" is a better and neutral term for "unexplained medical symptoms." The most common complaints are musculoskeletal pain, gastrointestinal complaints and "pseudoneurology" (tiredness, sleep problems, fatigue, and mood changes). These complaints are common in the general population, but for some these complaints reach a level that requires care and assistance. We suggest that these complaints are based on sensations from what in most people are normal physiological processes. In some individuals these sensations become intolerable. In some cases it may signal somatic disease, in most cases not. Cases without somatic disease, or with minimal somatic findings, occur under diagnoses like burnout, epidemic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, chronic musculoskeletal pain, chronic low back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. These complaints are particularly common in individuals with low coping and high levels of helplessness and hopelessness. The psychobiological mechanisms for this is suggested to be sensitization in neural loops maintained by sustained attention and arousal.
Publication Date: 2004
Publication Name: Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Research Interests:
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