Psychological stress is related to the onset of a spectrum of diseases (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007), but the underlying pathways linking stress with disease are not fully understood. Recently there has been increasing interest in exploring low-grade peripheral inflammation as a potential pathway, especially considering that inflammation is reliably induced by psychological stress and directly affects various organ systems in the body (Rohleder, 2014). Previous studies showed that peripheral inflammation contributes to increased risk of several physiological as well as psychological diseases, including myocardial infarction (Ridker, Rifai, Stampfer, & Hennekens, 2000), diabetes (Wellen & Hotamisligil, 2005), and depression (Dantzer, O'Connor, Freund, Johnson, & Kelley, 2008), among others. However, the details of this pathway, particularly regarding the regulation of stress-induced inflammation, are unclear.
2.1 Stress Effects on Inflammation
Stress responses of inflammatory molecules are influenced by …show more content…
In longitudinal studies, affective reactivity to daily stressors predicted psychiatric and physical disease (Charles, Piazza, Mogle, Sliwinski, & Almeida, 2013; Piazza, Charles, Sliwinski, Mogle, & Almeida, 2013). Over-exaggerated acute inflammatory stress response was prospectively associated with increased blood pressure three years later (Brydon & Steptoe, 2005). Cross-sectionally, alterations in HPA axis or SNS stress reactivity were found to be related with certain diseases, including atopic dermatitis (Buske-Kirschbaum et al., 2002) and cancer (Powell, Tarr, & Sheridan, 2013). Individual differences in habituation to stress are also important in terms of psychological and physiological health, with participants showing smaller habituation reporting lower self-esteem, more physical symptoms (Kirschbaum et al., 1995), and greater vital exhaustion (Kudielka et al.,
2.1 Stress Effects on Inflammation
Stress responses of inflammatory molecules are influenced by …show more content…
In longitudinal studies, affective reactivity to daily stressors predicted psychiatric and physical disease (Charles, Piazza, Mogle, Sliwinski, & Almeida, 2013; Piazza, Charles, Sliwinski, Mogle, & Almeida, 2013). Over-exaggerated acute inflammatory stress response was prospectively associated with increased blood pressure three years later (Brydon & Steptoe, 2005). Cross-sectionally, alterations in HPA axis or SNS stress reactivity were found to be related with certain diseases, including atopic dermatitis (Buske-Kirschbaum et al., 2002) and cancer (Powell, Tarr, & Sheridan, 2013). Individual differences in habituation to stress are also important in terms of psychological and physiological health, with participants showing smaller habituation reporting lower self-esteem, more physical symptoms (Kirschbaum et al., 1995), and greater vital exhaustion (Kudielka et al.,