Rude, unkind words can lead to skin inflammatory diseases--study

Scientists from University of California, Los Angeles have claimed that our brain reaction to social stressors can influence the body's immune system resulting in skin inflammatory diseases.

Handling rude, sarcastic remarks of superiors at workplace, nervousness over a job interview, verbal attacks, anger or fear of being socially rejected, all are different facets of social stress.

Study details
The study performed on 124 volunteers, 54 men and 70 women, put them into two awkward social situations.

First, the volunteers were asked to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which involved preparing and delivering an impromptu speech and performing difficult mental arithmetics in front of a panel of raters.

Mouth swabs were collected before and after public speaking to detect the changes in two key biomarkers of inflammatory activity, a receptor for tumor necrosis factor-α (sTNFαRII), and interleukin-6 (IL-6).

In the next session, 31 volunteers underwent a MRI brain scan while playing computer games with two graphical men on their screens.

When the game reached its half-time, the research subject was excluded, leading to an experience of social rejection.

Later, MRI scans noted this increased activity in two brain regions associated with social rejection.

Study observations
The results of the study clearly indicated that individuals who exhibit greater neural sensitivity to social rejection are also more prone to inflammatory disorders.

Although some changes can be adaptive, chronic inflammation can increase the risk of a variety of disorders, including asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cardio-vascular diseases, certain types of cancer, and depression.

Dr. George Slavich, psychologist and lead author of the study, said, “This is further evidence of how closely our mind and body are connected.”

"We have known for a long time that social stress can 'get under the skin' to increase risk for disease, but it's been unclear exactly how these effects occur.

“To our knowledge, this study is the first to identify the neurocognitive pathways that might be involved in inflammatory responses to acute social stress," Slavich added.

The study appears online in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.'