Stress and Health Flashcards
Negative emotions and stress
directly prompt immune dysregulation and these processes may lead to subsequent maladaptive immune and endocrine changes
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
- focuses on interaction between the CNS, endocrine system, immune system, and cognition/behaviour (psychological and social factors)
- Accepted that behaviour/ thoughts/ emotions influences immune system and therefore health
Depression
- MD puts you at a 4.5 x greater risk for heart attack
- Osteoporosis
- -Low bone mineral density in older females
-Decline in muscle strength in older men
- Reduced rehabilitation:
- -stroke
- -fractures
- -pulmonary disease
- -diabetes
- -Depressed diabetics less likely to follow dietary recommendations
Can increase risk of developing a disability by 73%
Can lead to worse:
Physical health
Social functioning
Perceived health
Poorer functioning caused by depression comparable to chronic medical conditions
Pain
- linked to depression and negative moods
- pain can increase heart rate and blood pressure, stress-related hormones
- disrupts mental and social functioning
- depression can increase morbidity by amplifying pain and disability
Anxiety
- risk for cardiovascular
- risk factor for CHD
bidirectional relationship of illness and anxiety& depression
illnesses can increase ones risk for anxiety & depression
anxiety and depression can increase risk for illness
Three Views of Stress
- focus on the environment (stress as a stimulus- stressor)
- reaction to stress: stress as a response (distress)
- relationship between person and the environment (stress as an interaction- coping)
4 types of stress responses
- cognitive
- emotional
- behavioral
- physiological
Distressed/depressed people exhibit:
- Poorer sleep & nutrition
- Drug & alcohol use —> altered cytokine levels
- Less exercise —> altered cytokine levels
- Less likely to seek medical care & adhere to it
Poorer sleep
decreases growth hormone
increases cortisol
Alcohol use
Poorer sleep & nutrition
Does Stress Cause Disease?
Disease is caused by many factors, one of which may be stress
Not everyone who gets stressed develops disease – why?
diathesis stress model
Diathesis-Stress Model
- Some people more vulnerable to stress-related diseases :
- -genetic weakness or biochemical imbalance predisposes them to disease
- Some people predisposed (diathesis) to reacting abnormally to stress – predisposition is inherited
- A persons vulnerability and stressful life events must be taken into account to explain who will get sick and who won’t
What are the physiological mechanisms explaining the link between stress and the disease?
direct influences of stress on nervous,
endocrine, and immune systems
Indirect effect occurring through changes
in health practices
Why is chronic stress bad for you?
If you constantly mobilizing resources you’ll never have surplus energy stored = fatigue
Blood pressure of 180/100 adaptive when escaping a threat. A BP of 180/100 is not good continuously when it’s not needed
In women, continuous stress leads to menstrual cycle changes (via changes in hormone levels)
In men, continuous stress can lead to low sperm count
In both genders, continuous stress = decreased sex drive
When you are constantly turning on hormones some cells in the body will become unresponsive to them and no longer work properly (e.g. insulin resistance)
If you suppress your immune system too much you will become a victim of a number of illness = body is not fighting off pathogens effectively
Stress and Cardiovascular Disease
-When you have a stress response heart beats fasters = chronically activating stress response means blood will be hitting the heart walls with greater force = half of the heart walls thicken to accommodate for this (now have a lob sided heart).
-Increased blood flow in capillaries damages them. When stressed your blood becomes viscous (increased clotting agents). These clotting agents get clumped in damaged capillaries = now have plaque in blood vessels.
If these plaques get dislodged into a coronary artery = heart attack
Stress and Ulcers
-Stress causes 2-3 fold increase in chance of developing an ulcer
-30-65% of ulcer cases have some sort of stress involved
Ulcers caused by the Helicobacter bacteria (this bacteria decreases the mucosal layer lining the stomach stomach acid can then eat away at the stomach lining = ulcer)
-Stress alone will not cause ulcers – but stress does make stomach acid more acidic.
-So stress in conjunction with the Helicobacter bacteria = high chance of ulcers (and of cause stress decreased immune functioning so more likely to contract the Helicobacter virus when stressed)
Stress and Diabetes
Being overweight/lack of exercise puts you at risk for diabetes = you will have too much excess energy and this is stored as fat/carbohydrates/proteins. You fat cells become “full”. Then each time you eat a meal your body releases insulin (to try store fat and carbohydrates). Your full fat cells will not allow more fat to be stored and the cells become resistant to insulin. These cells also signal other cells to become resistant to insulin = you now have INSULIN RESISTANT DIABETES
Now your body will not store glucose when insulin is released= increased glucose in blood = hardened arteries, kidney failure etc..
Diabetes can cause weight gain = your body is insulin resistant then you have excess glucose in your blood. Your body will not need to use fat for energy since you have so much circulating glucose. It will there store the fat instead = weight gain.
When your stressed you body tries to mobilize energy = increase in glucose and fats
Constantly doing this means you will have high levels of glucose and fat in your blood. After the stress your body releases a lot of insulin to try and reduce the glucose in your blood. Not a problem per say unless you are constantly doing this = cells become resistant to insulin and you can actually damage the insulin releasing cells in your pancreas. In addition, when you are stressed you are more likely to consume sugary and fatty foods which further increases sugar and fat in your body.
Stress and Cancer
- In rats stress has been shown to increase tumour growth:
- -Stress response means increase in natural killer cells of the immune system (these cells prevent the spread of tumours)
- -Tumours need energy to grow – when stressed you mobilize energy – now the tumours have more energy to grow
-While stress can affect the progression of cancer it has not been shown to spontaneously cause cancer
Stress and sleep
- Different types of sleep:
- -Slow wave sleep (SWS) is one type
- SWS:
- -is when our bodies shutdown and energy restoration and repair occurs
- -Important for memory consolidation
- SWS occurs when cortisol levels are low
- -If you stressed your cortisol levels are higher and you have decreased SWS
- -Less chance for your body to repair itself and restore energy = leads to illness and fatigue
- -Poorer memory
-When you don’t get enough SWS your body releases more cortisol the following day which results in poorer sleep – a vicious cycle
Headaches
Stress associated with tension headaches and migraines
- daily hassles implicated not major life events)
Infectious Disease
- Association between stress and colds/flu -Chronic stress
- Association between stress and HIV (disease progression and response to ARV’S)
CVD (cardiovascular disease)
Stress increase you risk for CVD
Stress can act as trigger for heart attacks in people with CHD/CVD
Ulcers
H. Pylori infection creates vulnerability to ulcers BUT
stress precipitates the development
Diabetes
Stress related to development of Type 1 diabetes
Stress related to development of Type 2 diabetes
Asthma
Stressors can stimulate an asthma attack – both acute and chronic
Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Chronic inflammatory disease of the joints – autoimmune disease
- Through production of cytokines and stress hormones
Depression
- Poor coping with stressful situations leads to depression
- Rumination linked to depression
