statement from the NHLBI expert workshop panel called for increased study of the role of stress in asthma. However, research in the area remains sparse. A major impediment to moving this field forward in pulmonary research is familiarizing the field with measurement tools and analytic methodology needed (relevant to basic research as well as epidemiologic study design and statistical methodology). In particular, a major challenge remains in how to infer significance of psychological factors (emotion, distress, stress) from physiological signals (biomarkers including hormones, neurotransmitters, and immune parameters) as they might inform mechanisms linking stress to asthma. This sentiment has since been echoed by many in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) as well as the European Respiratory Society. In order to explore potential mechanisms linking stress and asthma, it is helpful to consider how stressors may influence inflammatory diseases in general, and then to frame these hypotheses within the current asthma paradigm. The need to gain an understanding of mechanistic research from many disciplines (e.g., immunology, epidemiology, psychology, sociology, stress, psychoneuroendocrinology,) complicates the advancement of research in this area. This project will thus bring together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers to evaluate the current state of knowledge linking stress to disease in general and applications to the field of asthma. The major focus will be on methodology and measurement issues. The notion that differential exposure to stress may in part explain the associations between SES and asthma will also be explored. This project will increase awareness of a significant environmental exposure (i.e., stress) that may contribute to asthma morbidity and underscore the importance of further research in the field. The cross-disciplinary nature of this area of research requires that many speakers from outside of our professional society be invited to participate. The product from this workshop promises to set the course for future research in the field. The meeting is scheduled for October 16-20, 2003 to take place in New York City.
