Early Detection and Prevention of Stress-Related Health Problems

"Prevention" means to "keep something from happening" and, in the health context, to keep medical symptoms from developing. No more than 10-15% of the general population show insufficient coping skills under chronic stress and may be at risk for stress-related health problems. Therefore, prevention has to target only a subgroup of the general public whose risk is significantly higher than the average. Our prevention strategy aims (1) to raise awareness of the risks associated with insufficient coping skills under chronic stress; (2) to promote constructive lifestyles so that vulnerability to stress-related health problems is reduced while mechanisms that support and maintain health are strengthened; (3) to promote regular exercises which significantly reduce the risk for stress-related health problems.

Selective Preventive Intervention

Monitoring affective state, heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, physical activity, sleep quality, skin conductance, and body temperature, is of major interest for everyone. Such assessments provide fascinating insights into the dynamics of our health: (1) the complex interplay between vulnerability and resilience factors; (2) the extent to which the affective state influences physical health and well-being; (3) the extent to which physical activity contributes to general health by improving physical fitness and by strengthening the immune system.

Monitoring affective state and bio-physiological parameters among subjects with insufficient coping skills enables the early detection of stress-related health problems. You may take a 10-minute test with immediate feedback in order to assess your coping skills and general health. This test is absolutely free, available in 5 languages, and evaluated in a strictly anonymous way. It has been calibrated through a normative study of 2,517 students from 6 socio-culturally different countries. Differences between the study sites were found to be marginal.

Prospective Study

The Institute for Response-Genetics, University of Zurich (Switzerland), is carrying out prospective studies of freshman students at culturally different study sites to investigate the efficacy of preventive interventions for stress-related health problems. The study follows a 3-stage approach: In the first phase, coping behavior and general health are quantitatively assessed among the students. In the second phase, students with insufficient coping skills under chronic stress are monitored over a 2-week period by a set of sensors which allow for continuous measures of heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, physical activity, sleep quality, skin conductance, and body temperature at a 5 min resolution over 24h [learn more ... ]. Additionally, 2-minute speech recordings at daily intervals are used to assess the test persons' affective state [see our scientific article]. In the third phase, randomly selected cases with elevated risks for stress-related health problems will participate in a preventive intervention program.