The Role Of Stress In Illness Flashcards
How can stress lead to cardiovascular disorders?
Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system leading to the production of adrenaline. Repeated high levels of adrenaline can have long term effects.
What three cardiovascular disorders can be caused due to these constant high levels of adrenaline?
Increased heart rate = causes the heart to work harder and takes a toll over time
Constriction of blood vessels = increases blood pressure which can lead to tension then tearing
Increased blood pressure = can cause plaque to build up on the artery walls -> blocks arteries which can lead to a heart attack or stroke
What two research can we used to show the role of stress in illness?
Wilbert Lampen et al looked at stress during football matches
Found that short term stressor contribute to CVDs
Yusuf et al found that workplace stress + stressful life events was greater than obsesity for CVDs
How can stress have a direct role on immunosuppression?
Hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system produces cortisol
One of the effects of cortisol is a reduction of the body’s immune system (immunosuppression)
This means the immune is less able to fight off harmful pathogens
How can stress have an indirect role on immunosuppression?
Stress can cause people to engage to in behaviours that have negative impact on the immune system functioning e.g smoking, drinking alcohol, eating unhealthy foods.
What 2 studies/research shows the role of stress on immunosuppression?
Glaser et al
Study 1 = took blood samples from students one month before and on the day of an exam.
Findings - immune system functioning was reduced in the high stress condition (on the day) compared to the low stress condition (one month before)
Study 2 = compared the immune system of caregivers and a matched group on non-caregivers
Findings- The caregivers had a weaker cell based immune response + more infections, illness’s and higher levels of depression (32% met the criteria for clinical depression but only 6% did in the control group)
What is a strength of the research into the role of stress in illness on cardiovascular disorders?
