II Stress and physical health

Toenemend onderzoek toont dat stress een negatief effect heeft op de fysieke gezondheid.

McEwen. B.S.. & Stellar, E. (1993). Stress and the individual mechanisms leading to disease. Archives of Internal Medicine, 153, 2093-2101. Examines diseases associated with stress, including asthma, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, myocardial infarction, hypertension, cancer, viral infections, and autoimmunity; discusses mechanisms, including neurochemistry (serotonin) and immunology (natura1 killer cell activity and cancer). See recent update in: McEwen, B.S. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of Stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338, 171-179.

Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., Marucha, P.T., Malarkey, w.B., Mercado, A.M., & Glaser, R. (1996). Slowing of wound healing by psychological stress. Lancet, 346(8984):1194-1196. Thirteen women (mean age 62) caring for demented relatives (high stress) were compared with 13 controls matched for age (60 ys) and family income. Ball subjects underwent a 3.5 mm punch biopsy. Healing was assessed by photography of wound and response to hydrogen peroxide (healing defined as no foaming). Wounds in stressed caregivers took significantly longer to heal (48.1 vs 39.3 days, p< .05). Furthermore, peripheral blood leukocytes (white blood cells) of caregivers produced significantly less interleukin-1 beta mRNA in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation (suggesting impaired functioning).