PSYCHOSOMATIC COMPLAINTS AND UNWINDING OF SYMPATHOADRENAL ACTIVATION AFTER WORK

It is well known that chronically elevated catecholamine excretion rat es are associated with health problems, indicating the importance of r ecovery after work. In 28 male truck drivers, unwinding after work was found to be insufficient. The resulting spillover of sympathoadrenal activation, as assessed by urinary excretion rate of adrenaline and no radrenaline, was significantly related to self-reported psychosomatic health complaints. Age had a significant effect on spillover of noradr enaline, whereas this personal factor was only marginally significant for adrenaline. This study shows that elevated sympathoadrenal activat ion after work, and not only increased reactivity during work, causes health problems, although it is also plausible that young and healthy drivers are able to unwind more quickly than older drivers with psycho somatic complaints. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.