Exam Stress Can Worsen Asthma Symptoms March 7, 2000 (San Diego) -- Asthma and allergy sufferers have always suspected that their symptoms intensify in times of stress. A small study conducted by doctors at the University of Wisconsin now provides evidence to support that claim, indicating that inflammation of the airways increases during exam week in college students with asthma.

The study was presented by Stanley Goldstein, MD, at this week's annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Senior author William W. Busse, MD, and his colleagues studied 20 college students with asthma during final exam week and during a less stressful time of the semester. All of the students were found to have reactions to common allergens, including ragweed, cat hair, and dust mites. Allergens are substances that cause allergic reactions such as asthma attacks, runny noses, and hives.

During both the stressful and nonstressful periods, the investigators measured white blood cells called eosinophils in the students' lungs, which increase when an allergen is inhaled. Initially, there was no difference between the number of eosinophils during stressful and nonstressful periods. But when the students were exposed to allergens, their eosinophils increased during exam week compared with the nonstressful period.

Based on their results, researchers conclude that school-related stress may work along with an allergen to worsen asthma symptoms and cause asthma attacks.

"These findings suggest that stress can exacerbate the inflammatory response to substances known to provoke a reaction in sensitive individuals," says Goldstein, director of Allergy and Asthma Care of Long Island in Rockville Center, N.Y. "It's easy to blame something on stress, but this study presents a possible cause-and-effect mechanism."

Before any practical recommendations can be made, though, Goldstein says more research is needed to confirm these findings.