Table 2.
Salivary cortisol concentrations and blood pressure responses to as well as subjective ratings of the SECPT vs. control procedure.
| Control | Stress | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Salivary cortisol (nmol/l) | |||
| Before procedure | 14.99 ± 7.20 | 18.26 ± 11.73 | |
| 1 min after procedure | 12.42 ± 6.63 | 12.92 ± 8.29 | |
| 25 min after procedure | 9.67 ± 4.48 | 18.78 ± 11.43** | |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | |||
| Before procedure | 116.28 ± 8.95 | 116.47 ± 13.13 | |
| During procedure | 115.81 ± 10.09 | 132.70 ± 15.27** | |
| After procedure | 110.84 ± 7.07 | 113.27 ± 12.47 | |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | |||
| Before procedure | 65.80 ± 5.90 | 65.77 ± 8.52 | |
| During procedure | 65.57 ± 5.70 | 78.55 ± 8.47** | |
| After procedure | 64.20 ± 5.89 | 64.17 ± 8.10 | |
| Subjective ratings after procedure | |||
| Stressful | 5.42 ± 12.85 | 39.09 ± 17.16** | |
| Painful | 0.83 ± 4.08 | 58.64 ± 18.33** | |
| Unpleasant | 6.67 ± 13.08 | 50.91 ± 20.22** | |
Stressfulness, painfulness and unpleasantness were rated on a scale from 0 (“not at all”) to 100 (“very much”). Data represents means ± standard deviation. ** p < .01, significant difference between stress and control group (t-tests).