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The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between menses-associated health problems of women, such as premenstrual symptoms, menstrual pain and irregular menstrual cycles, and psychosocial stress. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Japanese college students, measuring psychosocial stress levels by means of IMPS (The Inventory to Measure Psychosocial Stress). A total of 264 female students (mean age 19.4 years), who were invited to participate in the study in October 2007, completed the questionnaire, which dealt with anthropometric data, lifestyle, menstrual history, and menstrual health status. Forty-three students were excluded due to missing data, and the remaining 221 were analyzed. The proportions of students who reported premenstrual symptoms, menstrual pain, and the experience of irregular menstrual cycles were 79%, 79%, and 63%, respectively. Students who reported premenstrual symptoms, menstrual pain, and the experience of irregular menstrual cycles had higher stress scores than those who did not. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent factors associated with having premenstrual symptoms, menstrual pain, and the experience of irregular menstrual cycles. Stress score, heavy menstrual flow, and menstrual pain were significant predictors for premenstrual symptoms, while age at menarche and having premenstrual symptoms were significant predictors for menstrual pain. Both stress score and body mass index were found to be significant predictors for having experienced irregular menstrual cycles. The results suggest that psychosocial stress is independently associated with premenstrual symptoms and the experience of irregular menstrual cycles among college students, implying that changes in the functional potentiality of women as a result of stress are related with changes in their menstrual function.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between psychosocial stress and intraocular pressure among apparently healthy subjects. Psychosocial stress among 1,461 public school workers (883 men and 578 women) was measured using the inventory to measure psychosocial stress (IMPS) and intraocular pressure was measured using a non-contact tonometer (Topcon CT-90). After controlling for the effects of likely confounding variables such as age, body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin, systolic blood pressure, alcohol consumption, smoking status, and exercise, partial correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were performed in order to test the hypothesis that IMPS-measured stress score was associated with intraocular pressure. IMPS-measured stress score was found to correlate positively with intraocular pressure in women after controlling for the effects of confounding variables, whereas this relationship was not found in men. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that IMPS-measured stress score was positively associated with intraocular pressure in women independent of confounding variables, but not in men. Perturbations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis associated with stress are considered to be partly responsible for an increase in intraocular pressure among people suffering from psychosocial stress. Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between this stress-associated increase in intraocular pressure and open-angle glaucoma.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the stress score measured using the Inventory to Measure Psychosocial Stress (IMPS) and biomedical parameters regarding health status among apparently healthy subjects in order to evaluate the validity of the IMPS. Out of the 1,941 public school workers in Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, who were admitted to a hospital for medical check-ups, 1,499 workers responded to questionnaires which assessed the degree of stress response (i.e., stress score) measured using the IMPS, and the degree of stress tolerance capacity (i.e., stress intolerance score) measured using the Inventory to Measure Stress Tolerance Capacity (IMST). One thousand two-hundred and one workers (684 men and 517 women) were analyzed, excluding 298 subjects who were taking medication for hypertension, hyperuricemia, hyperlipidemia and diabetes, or had a value for glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)>or=6.0 percent. An increase in the stress score was positively associated with an increase in both body fat percentage and glycosylated hemoglobin values among men, while it was positively associated with an increase in plasma triglyceride concentrations among women. The stress score significantly correlated with the value for glycosylated hemoglobin even after controlling for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking, and exercise among men. An increase in the stress intolerance score was positively associated with an increase in body fat percentage among men, while it was positively associated with an increase in body weight, body mass index, and body fat percentage among women. Our result that the stress score measured using the IMPS was associated with obesity and unfavorable glycemic changes is in congruency with the model that psychosocial stress has a detrimental effect on humans by inducing obesity and insulin resistance, suggesting that the IMPS is a valid means to evaluate psychosocial stress levels among an otherwise healthy population.