The Correlation of Serum Prolactin Level and Psychic Stress in Women Undergoing a Chronic Hemodialysis Programme

Summary

Altogether eight women undergoing a chronic hemodialysis treatment were studied for five months. Four of them were in the premenopause and four in the postmenopause. Once a month levels of prolactin, FSH, LH, estradiol and progesterone were mesured, Lüscher colour test was performed, from which the screamer index as an indicator of psychic stress was calculated and the levels of urea, creatinine and hematocrite were assessed to inform us of the adequacy of dialysis. We tested the hypothesis, whether there exists a correlation between psychic stress and the prolactin level in these women. For statistic evaluation we used linear regression under the use of dummy variables to intercept the interindividual differences in the Lüscher test. We found that the fluctuation of the prolactin level and of the value of the screamer index of the Lüscher test are parallel (p < 0.05). These results bear witness of a participation of psychic stress in the onset and level of hyperprolactinemia in women being in a chronic hemodialysis treatment.

Key words

Hyperprolactinemia - Hemodialysis - Lüscher colour test