Key result
Mental stress induced by an arithmetic test significantly increased energy expenditure from 0.018 to 0.023 kcal/min/kg (p<0.001), and high salt intake increased the sensitivity of systolic blood pressure to this stress.
Why the study?
Does mental stress alter cardiovascular parameters in relation to energy expenditure, and is this response modified by baseline blood pressure or salt intake?
Observational (n=44)
No
Does mental stress alter cardiovascular parameters in relation to energy expenditure, and is this response modified by baseline blood pressure or salt intake?
High dietary salt intake appears to increase the sensitivity of cardiovascular parameters (blood pressure, heart rate, sympathetic activity) to mental stress in young men.
High salt intake was associated with steeper cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress; hypothesis-generating in small observational data and should not yet change practice.
We assessed the influence of mental stress on cardiovascular parameters, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR) and sympathetic activity (LF/HF), with the use of a quantitative indicator of energy expenditure (EE). Forty-four male university students underwent a mental arithmetic test. Their EE was 1.3-fold that at rest in response to the test. Change in EE (DeltaEE) in response to the test was compared between subjects with high blood pressure (BP) and those without and between subjects with high salt intake and those without. Changes in SBP (DeltaSBP), changes in HR (DeltaHR) and changes in LF/HF (DeltaLF/HF) in relation to DeltaEE were represented by linear regression. Regression analysis showed that the coefficients of DeltaEE were positively related to the dependent variables DeltaSBP, DeltaHR and DeltaLF/HF. The slopes of the regression curves for the high-BP group (24-h SBP >or=127 mmHg) and the high-salt-intake group (>or=11 g/day) were steeper than those for the normal BP group and the low-salt-intake group (p=0.11 and p=0.01, respectively). Thus, we were able to determine the influence of mental stress on cardiovascular function. The influence of mental stress on cardiovascular function likely differs according to a subject's environmental conditions. Our study implied that high salt intake increases the sensitivity of cardiovascular functions to mental stress.
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Sawai et al. (2007) conducted an observational in Healthy (n=44). Mental stress (arithmetic test) vs. Initial rest was evaluated on Energy expenditure (kcal/min/kg) (p=<0.001). Mental stress induced by an arithmetic test significantly increased energy expenditure from 0.018 to 0.023 kcal/min/kg (p<0.001), and high salt intake increased the sensitivity of systolic blood pressure to this stress.
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