Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Influence of Psychological Stress on the Levels of the Skin’s Natural Moisturizing Factor in Croatian Medical Students
Mislav Mokos
; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Orešković
; Faculty of Food Technol ogy and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Dora Vlašić
; School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia;
Maja Mikulec
; Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivone Jakaša
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Branka Marinović
; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Sažetak
Psychological stress may affect skin barrier homeostasis and slow down its recov-
ery. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between psychological stress
levels and natural moisturizing factor (NMF) levels in the stratum corneum (SC).
NMF levels were determined in the SC of 25 third-year and 25 sixth-year medi-
cal students in two periods (stressful and non-stressful) using the tape stripping
method, high-performance liquid chromatography, and spectrophotometry. Ad-
ditionally, students completed the Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire.
Most students had medium stress levels. During the non-stressful period, third-
year students were under higher stress than sixth-year students (P<0.001). How-
ever, there was no significant difference between the two examined groups in
the stressful period. Only among the sixth-year students were significantly higher
stress levels found in the stressful period compared with the non-stressful pe-
riod. In both groups, the levels of NMF did not differ significantly between the
examined periods. Regarding the non-stressful period, there was a clear trend of
increasing NMF levels among third-year students compared with sixth-year stu-
dents (P=0.0547), consistent with the higher stress levels among third-year stu-
dents during this period. Additionally, sixth-year female students had significantly
lower NMF levels during the non-stressful period than third-year female students.
In conclusion, third-year students were exposed to longer-term stress, while the
stress of sixth-year students was associated with the exam-writing period. Addi-
tionally, we observed a trend of increasing NMF levels with increasing stress. Fur-
ther research is needed to determine the mechanism by which stress, as an inde-
pendent factor, influences NMF levels in the SC.
Ključne riječi
psychological stress; natural moisturizing factor; medical students
Hrčak ID:
326849
URI
Datum izdavanja:
10.4.2024.
Posjeta: 681 *