Subscribe to news email updates. Tragic News Reports Weigh More
Heavily on Women: Study Physiological response was evident in
reaction to later events. WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) --
Bad news in the media increases women's sensitivity to stressful
situations but does not affect men, a new study finds.
University of Montreal researchers asked 60 people to read
actual news stories. The articles were either neutral stories
about events such as the opening of a new park or the premiere
of a film, or negative stories about events such as accidents
and murders. Before and after the participants read the news
stories, the researchers collected saliva samples in order to
measure levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Higher levels of
the hormone indicate higher levels of stress. After reading the
news stories, the participants were given memory and intellect
tasks designed to evaluate how they react to stressful
situations. Saliva samples were collected again after this part
of the study. "Although the news s