Repeated stress: chronic diseases
Stress is the evil of the century. Everyone has their share of stress on a daily basis. But what if repeated stress was responsible for more serious illnesses?
Added to pathologies already present, stress could aggravate these pathologies. This is demonstrated by an American study published in the journalBrain, Behavior and Immunity(1).
The study
It has already been proven that psychological stress can cause symptoms like inflammation, and that people with obesity or overweight are prone to developing several diseases.
The team of American researchers wanted to study the hypothesis that this risk of exposure to these diseases could be linked, in some way, to an inadequate reaction to stress, through low-grade inflammation. Inflammation is a natural response of our body to certain aggressions. This is a normal immune response. But under the influence of repeated great stress, this inflammation could worsen and participate in the development of chronic diseases.
The study was conductedon a group of 77 people. The level of inflammation was therefore measured through many parameters such as the level of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva. Through 2 psychological tests, psychological stress levels were also measured.
It should be noted that the group of people studied included subjects who were healthy, obese, overweight, or of normal weight.
Vocabulary
Cortisol: Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted by the cortex of the adrenal gland. It has several actions or functions such as increasing blood sugar, regulating the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, or inhibiting certain immune system responses(2).
IL-6 orInterleukin 6: protein involved in the acute phase of inflammation. It stimulates the secretion of proteins from the acute phase of inflammation in the liver(3).
The results
When the results were highlighted, it was pointed out that exposure to psychological stress would indeed lead to an increase in cortisol and IL-6.
In overweight people, the level of IL-6 would be doubled while nothing happens in people of normal weight.
Repeated exposure to stress is thought to be related to addiction. Overweight people, that is to say with high adiposity, would therefore have avery low capacity for addiction. The higher the body fat, the more sensitivity to inflammation also increases.
There is therefore an inflammatory reaction to stress in overweight people, who therefore have a huge risk of comorbidities related to overweight and obesity.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.