Stress level evaluation and its correlation with the emerging of recurrent lip herpes

Abstract

A lot has been studied about the influence of stress in immune response alterations and in the emerging of opportunistic infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between stress level and the recurrence of lip herpes. It was a cross-sectional study which sample consisted of 408 Dentistry students, of both genders, from Pernambuco Dentistry School (FOP-UPE) and Pernambuco Federal University (UFPE). The following variables were considered: sex; age; race; stress level, as from obtained by the response of a stress level questionnaire and the prevalence of lip herpes. The results showed significant statistical associations between the presence of herpes and sex (p=0.014); age (p=0.002) and stress level (p=0.002). The relationship with race (p=0.309) was not determined. From the 38 detected cases of lip herpes, 20 were in the exhausting phase of stress and 18 were in the resistance phase (moderate). By this study, it is concluded that there is a strong correlation between more intense stress levels and the recurrence of lip herpes, being the women more affected than men.