Key idea: Long-term stress does not only change habits: it changes the body, weakening the immune response.
Two routes from stress to illness
The body route
The HPA axis releases cortisol. Short bursts help; months of it raise appetite, blood pressure and blood sugar, and weaken the immune system.
The behaviour route
Stressed people often eat more sweet food, smoke, drink more and sleep less.
Body · Behaviour
Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues (1995) compared women caring for a relative with dementia with women of the same age who had no caring role. After a small, standard wound on the arm, the caregivers took about nine days longer to heal, about 24% longer.
What HL adds: Paper 3 may give results like these as two means. Compare the means, then ask about the sample: 13 women in each group cannot represent everyone.
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Key idea: Stress raises the risk of illness; support and coping lower it.
Risk factors
- Stress that lasts for months
- Few people to turn to
- Poor sleep, smoking, drinking
Protective factors
- Social support
- Coping skills, such as problem-solving
- Exercise and enough sleep
Cohen and colleagues (1991) gave 394 healthy adults a cold virus. Higher reported stress meant a higher chance of a cold, even after smoking, drinking and sleep were taken into account.
Watch out: Short and long stress differ. A short burst can help; months of strain harm.