title: Psychological, neural, endocrine, and immune study of stress in tinnitus patients: any correlation between psychometric and biochemical measures?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study was carried out in tinnitus patients in order to study the psychological distress and the biochemical measures of this stressful condition. Psychological features were compared to immune and neuroendocrine parameters in order to verify in these subjects the possible presence of psychological and somatic responses to stress.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 85 tinnitus patients who underwent hematochemical immune tests: lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3; CD4; CD3+CD4; CD8; CD19; CD16NK; CD3+CD16+CD56; and CD4/CD8), cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, beta-endorphin, prolactin, and urinary catecholamine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinically, significant scores were obtained for hysteria, depression, paranoia, hypochondrias, and social introversion; and high scores were obtained for anxiety, depression, care for health, difficulty of treatment, low self-esteem, family and work difficulties, and social discomfort. There was a low to medium level of self-perception of stress. The less a subject felt stressed, the higher was his or her satisfaction level in the areas of psychological and physical functioning. The scores on the tests and the biochemical measures did not show a significant correlation, but there was a tendency to correlation for the lymphocytes CD19 and CD16NK and for adrenocorticotropic hormone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The comparison between the psychometric and biochemical variables did not reveal any significant correlation among stress perception, daily satisfaction, and the biochemical parameters of stress.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Padua University, Padua, Italy.
authors: Marina
authors: M
authors: Savastano
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Aita
authors: Federico
authors: F
authors: Barlani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D004584:Electronystagmography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods*; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers