- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." — Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's health information websites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the website) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
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Stress blog
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April 4, 2012
Men respond more aggressively than women to stress
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
It's obvious that men and women respond differently to stress. The roots may lie in our genes and in our past.
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Historically as humans developed, the male was the hunter, often under dangerous conditions. When faced with adversity, such as a lion or a tiger, the male would experience the "fight or flight" response. The pulse quickens. The pupils dilate. The blood pressure increases and blood is forced into the muscles for strength.
On the other hand, the female was the protector who stayed with and cared for the children. Typically, the female would have a "tend and befriend" response — a less aggressive response to stress.
We now understand that a single gene, a piece of chromosome, may account for these differences. The SRY protein located on the Y chromosome, which determines maleness, seems to be a factor in regulating the release of chemicals and hormones directly related to the response to stress. So, the way we behave under stress may reflect some genetic differences.
An experience I had this morning drove the point home to me. I was caught in traffic and noticed that the two adolescent males in cars next to me were not happy campers. They looked frustrated and they were not demonstrating mature coping skills. On the other hand, the women drivers around me didn't exhibit that sort of behavior. They seemed calm and even accepting, as if acknowledging that this is just the way it is.
Perhaps this explains why women outlive men by an average of 8 to 10 years. What do you think? Are these differences real? What can we learn from them?
7 comments posted
- Men respond more aggressively than women to stress and it's all down to a single gene. http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-102717.html. Accessed April 2, 2012.
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