© Borgis - New Medicine 1/2011, s. 19-21
*Ewa Ogłodek, Aleksander Araszkiewicz
Stress as a mechanism of intermediary function in the onset of illness
Department of Clinical Psychiatry of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz
Head of Department: Aleksander Araszkiewicz
Summary
Living in the social milieu is a constant exposure to psycho-social stimuli, influencing an individual, and making it difficult to meet its substantial needs. It results from the differences between the requirements of the milieu and the abilities of a given individual to meet them. The force of impact of psycho-social factors depends on their significance for the person and the intensiveness and duration of stimuli. With substantial intensiveness and duration of the influence of stimuli, disturbing mechanisms (physiological, emotional and behavioral) may occur. It contributes to the manifestation of symptoms of an illness – the faulty physiological and psychological functioning of an individual. Prolonged prodromal symptoms turn, as time passes, into the illness picture - inefficiency and/or limiting individual’s functioning due to psychosomatic disorders. Frequent experience of stress as well as activation of physiological mechanisms of the organism’s reaction to stress, facilitates development of medical problems. There exists no unambiguous answer to the question, what determines which organs will be subject to the impact of distress.
Stress resulting from the pace of life, lack of stable family life or work qualities may increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The main representative of this group of medical problems is the ischemic heart disease, called coronary disease. In spite of a downward trend in mortality, number of its victims still makes it one of the major causes of death in Poland. The disease affects arteries, transporting blood to the cardiac muscle. It has, most frequently, three stages: angina pectoris, heart attack and sudden coronary death (1, 2, 3). Shemesh E et al. emphasize in their research an important connection between stress and cardiovascular diseases. They point out that a psycho-social stimuli increase the activity of the neuro-vegetative system, which results in elevated blood pressure and heart rate, ventricular fibrillation and lowered perfusion of heart muscle (4). Prolonged stress exacerbates the above-mentioned symptoms, accelerating the process of formation of an atherosclerotic plate and degenerative changes of the blood vessels of the cardiac muscle. In her research, Alonzo AA found out that frequent experience of stress in the working environment is a factor, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (5). Banou E et al. showed that both daily duties, experienced life events and traumatic situations, contribute to the development of an illness (6). Many researchers emphasize that stress also contributes to the development of exacerbation of already started disease. Research conducted by Morrill EF et al. showed that traumas and traumatic experiences from childhood may constitute risk factors for coronary disease in adult life (7). In turn, another researcher, emphasizes that individuals more susceptible to heart diseases are those who have experienced a traumatic event/trauma, but choose not to talk about that and avoid expressing relevant emotions. Dobkin PL points up that having experienced a traumatic event may contribute to the increase in mortality of victims due to cardiovascular diseases (8).
Psycho-physiological Sternbach model emphasizes the importance of prolonged stress for a given organ. It finally results in the dysfunction and pathology of those organs. Sternbach psycho-physiological model draws our attention to three main predisposing elements, i.e.: response stereotypy (individual’s tendency to display similar patterns of psycho-physiological reacting to many different stress stimuli), frequent activation of psycho-physiological stress reaction and failure of homeostatic mechanisms (9, 10, 11).
Powyżej zamieściliśmy fragment artykułu, do którego możesz uzyskać pełny dostęp.
Mam kod dostępu
- Aby uzyskać płatny dostęp do pełnej treści powyższego artykułu albo wszystkich artykułów (w zależności od wybranej opcji), należy wprowadzić kod.
- Wprowadzając kod, akceptują Państwo treść Regulaminu oraz potwierdzają zapoznanie się z nim.
- Aby kupić kod proszę skorzystać z jednej z poniższych opcji.
Opcja #1
19 zł
Wybieram
- dostęp do tego artykułu
- dostęp na 7 dni
uzyskany kod musi być wprowadzony na stronie artykułu, do którego został wykupiony
Opcja #2
49 zł
Wybieram
- dostęp do tego i pozostałych ponad 7000 artykułów
- dostęp na 30 dni
- najpopularniejsza opcja
Opcja #3
119 zł
Wybieram
- dostęp do tego i pozostałych ponad 7000 artykułów
- dostęp na 90 dni
- oszczędzasz 28 zł
Piśmiennictwo
1. Higgins RO et al.: Emotional and adjustment issues faced by cardiac patients seen in clinical practice: a qualitative survey of experienced clinicians. J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev 2007; 27(5): 291-297. 2. Dao TK et al.: Clinical depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and comorbid depression and posttraumatic stress disorder as risk factors for in-hospital mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2010; 140(3): 606-610. 3. Tapernoux D et al.: Myocardial infarction during attempted suicide. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2009; 134(8): 339-342. 4. Shemesh E et al.: Posttraumatic stress, nonadherence, and adverse outcome in survivors of a myocardial infarction. Psychosom Med 2004; 66(4): 521-526. 5. Alonzo AA: Acute myocardial infarction and posttraumatic stress disorder: the consequences of cumulative adversity. J Cardiovasc Nurs 1999; 13(3): 33-45. 6. Banou E, Hobfoll SE, Trochelman RD: Loss of resources as mediators between interpersonal trauma and traumatic and depressive symptoms among women with cancer. J Health Psychol 2009; 14(2): 200-214. 7. Morrill EF et al.: The interaction of post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress symptoms in predicting depressive symptoms and quality of life. Psycho-oncology. 2008; 17(9): 948-953. 8. Dobkin PL: Mindfulness-based stress reduction: what processes are at work? Complement Ther Clin Pract 2008; 14(1): 8-16. 9. Oh SH et al.: Association of stress with symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Acta Derm Venereol 2010; 90(6): 582-528. 10. Reich A, Hrehorów E, Szepietowski JC: Pruritus is an important factor negatively influencing the well-being of psoriatic patients.Acta Derm Venereol 2010; 90(3): 257-263. 11. Biljan D et al.: Psoriasis, mental disorders and stress.Coll Antropol 2009; 33(3): 889-892. 12. Boehncke WH, Buerger C, Boehncke S: Co-morbidities in psoriasis vulgaris. Hautarzt 2009; 60(2): 116-121. 13. Willemsen R, Roseeuw D, Vanderlinden J: Alexithymia and dermatology: the state of the art. Int J Dermatol 2008; 47(9): 903-10. 14. Shah B, Ashok L, Sujatha GP: Evaluation of salivary cortisol and psychological factors in patients with oral lichen planus. Indian J Dent Res 2009; 20(3): 288-292. 15. Thornton LM, Andersen BL, Blakely WP: The pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster in advanced breast cancer: covariation with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system.Health Psychol 2010; 29(3): 333-337. 16. Pokupec JS, Gruden V, Gruden V Jr: Lichen ruber planus as a psychiatric problem. Psychiatr Danub 2009; 21(4): 514-516. 17. Banerjee B et al.: Effects of an integrated yoga program in modulating psychological stress and radiation-induced genotoxic stress in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Integr Cancer Ther 2007; 6(3): 242-250. 18. Mehnert A, Koch U: Prevalence of acute and post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid mental disorders in breast cancer patients during primary cancer care: a prospective study. Psychooncology 2007; 16(3): 181-188. 19. Banerjee B et al.: Effects of an integrated yoga program in modulating psychological stress and radiation-induced genotoxic stress in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Integr Cancer Ther 2007; 6(3): 242-250. 20. Pervanidou P, Chrousos GP: Neuroendocrinology of post-traumatic stress disorder. Prog Brain Res. 2010; 182: 149-60. 21. FitzGerald LZ, Kehoe P, Sinha K: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation in women with irritable bowel syndrome in response to acute physical stress. West J Nurs Res 2009; 31(7): 818-836. 22. von Känel R et al.: Stress hormones in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder caused by myocardial infarction and role of comorbid depression. J Affect Disord 2010; 121(1-2): 73-79. 23. Ivanovski K et al.: Psychological profile in oral lichen planus. J Clin Periodontol. 2005; 32(10): 1034-1040. 24. Field T, Diego M: Cortisol: the culprit prenatal stress variable. Int J Neurosci 2008; 118(8): 1181. 25. Thornton LM, Andersen BL, Carson WE 3rd: Immune, endocrine, and behavioral precursors to breast cancer recurrence: a case-control analysis. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2008; 57(10): 1471-1481.
