Catecholamine activity and reported morbidity.

Urinary VMA levels were measured in relation to the reporting of morbidity in an attempt to determine whether altered catecholamine activity is related to specific disease syndromes, or is a general characteristic of morbidity. The cross-sectional data show elevated VMA levels to be associated with the reporting of chronic disease conditions; non-chronic conditions and affective disorders were associated with lower VMA values, Although these findings are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that psycho-social stimuli acting through the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system may be important in the etiology of chronic disease conditions, alternative explanations are discussed and the need for further longitudinal studies indicated.