Psychological stress induced by 20 days bed rest

We investigated the changes of the psychological state during 20 days bed rest (BR) in 10 young participants,(5 males and 5 females, age; 19-24 yrs). Psychological assessment was accomplished by the following authorized 3 indices: 1) Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale, 2) Cornell Medical Index, and 3) Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire. Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale is a indicator for depression, and the other two indices were used for detecting signs of neurosis. The results from Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale and the General Health Questionnaire in this study indicated a tendency toward depression and neurosis developing during BR, respectively. The scores in the Cornell Medical Index did not change. Urinary excretion of 17-hydroxycorticosteroid increased significantly, indicating that BR immobilization induced an important psychological stress. We were unable to determine which factors caused the changes in psychological state during BR, immobilization insert or personal problems.