Term
| AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) |
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Definition
| A fatal disease transmitted by transfer of the human immunodeficiency virus, usually during sexual relations or by using needles previously infected by an HIV-positive person; it compromises the immune system to such a degree that the person ultimately dies from one of any number of infections. |
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Definition
| The physiological burden of high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol; may lead to disease susceptibility because of altered immune system functioning. |
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Definition
| The view that psychophysiological disorders, such as essential hypertension, arise from a person's not expressing anger or resentment. |
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Term
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Definition
| coronary heart disease (CHD), chest pains caused by insufficient supply of blood and thus oxygen to the heart; and myocardial infarction, or heart attack, In which the blood and oxygen supply is reduced so much that heart muscles are damaged. |
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Definition
| A psychophysiological disorder characterized by narrowing of the airways and increased secretion of mucus, often causing extremely labored and wheezy breathing. |
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Term
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Definition
| An interdisciplinary field concerned with integrating knowledge from medicine and behavioral science to understand health and illness, and to prevent as well as to treat psychophysiological disorders and other illnesses in which a person's psyche plays a role. See also health psychology |
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Definition
| Procedures that provide an individual immediate information on minute changes in muscle activity, skin temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and other somatic functions, so that voluntary control over these bodily processes can be achieved, thereby ameliorating to some extent certain psychophysiological disorders. |
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Term
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Definition
| Medical problems involving the heart and the blood circulation system, such as hypertenson or coronary heart disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| An approach to therapy that emphasizes prevention and seeking out potential difficulties in the natural surroundings rather than waiting for troubled individuals to initiate consultation. See also prevention. |
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Definition
| How people try to deal with problems, in particular the typically negative emotions elicited by stress; generally includes problem-focused, emotion focused, and avoidance actions and efforts. |
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Term
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Definition
| Immune system molecules, released by activated macrophages, which help initiate such bodily responses to infection as fatigue fever, and activation of the HPA axis. |
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Definition
| A psychophysiological disorder characterized by high blood pressure that cannot be traced to an organic cause; over time causes degeneration of small arteries, enlargement of the heart, and kidney damage. |
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Term
| functional social support |
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Definition
| The quality of a person's relationships, for example, a good versus a distressed marriage. Compare structural social support. |
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Definition
| A branch of psychology dealing with the role of psychological factors in health and illness. See also behavioral medicine. |
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Definition
| A proinflammatory cytokine, elevated levels can result from stress as well as infection and have been linked to numerous diseases in older adults. |
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Term
| metabolic syndrome (of CHD) |
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Definition
| Combination of particular risk factors-abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, and heightened inflammation-disposing to onset of coronary heart disease. |
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Term
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Definition
| Heart attack. See coronary heart disease. |
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Term
| psychological factors affecting medical condition |
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Definition
| A diagnosis in DSM-IV-TR that a physical illness is caused in part or exacerbated by psychological stress. See psychophysiological disorders. |
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Definition
| Field that studies how psychological factors (especially stressors) impact the immune system (adversely). |
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Term
| psychophysiological disorders |
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Definition
| Disorders with physical symptoms that may involve actual tissue damage, usually in one organ system, which are produced in part by continued mobilization of the autonomic nervous system under stress; listed in DSM-IV-TR on Axis I as psychological factor affecting medical condition with the specific physical condition provided on Axis III. |
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Term
| secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) |
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Definition
| Antibody of the secretory immune system whose elevated level in the saliva correlates well with positive mood. |
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Term
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Definition
| A range of psychological procedures that help people control and reduce their stress or anxiety |
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Term
| structural social support |
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Definition
| A person's network of social relationships, for example, number of friends. Compare functional social support. |
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Term
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Definition
| One of two contrasting psychological patterns revealed through studies seeking the cause of coronary heart disease. Type A people are competive, rushed, hostile, and overcommitted to their work, and are believed to be at heightened risk for heart disease; Type B people are more relaxed and relatively free of pressure |
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