Illness

• Immunosuppression happens as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response releases cortisol which inhibits the production of lymphocytes
• Stress may impact an individuals lifestyle habits such as drinking and smoking which have negative effects on the individuals health
• Stress causes cardiovascular disorders as the sympatho-medullary pathway causes the production of adrenaline which increases heart rate which if repeated constantly can cause damage to the cardiac muscle
• Kiecolt-Glaser (1984) study 1; used 75 medical students who have blood samples 1 month before (low stress) and the day of (high stress) their first exam as well as completing a questionnaire regarding the stresses in their lives
• Kiecolt-Glaser (1991) study 2; longitudinal study comparing illness in the carers of relatives with Alzheimer's and a matched group of non-caregivers
• Kiecolt-Glaser (1984) study 1 results; activity of NK and Killer T cells decreased between the two blood samples showing increased stress reduces the body's resistance to illness
• Kiecolt-Glaser (1991) study 2 results; over the span of 13 months caregivers showed a weaker immune system having infectious illnesses on significantly more days than the control group
• Kiecolt-Glaser (1991) results; carers showed higher levels of depression than the control group with 32% reaching the criteria for clinical diagnosis compared to just 6% in the control group
• Wilbert-Lampen (2008) found acute stress caused cardio-vascular issues as incidences of heart attacks in Germany were 2.66 times more likely during the world cup when the German team were playing
• Yusef (2004) found chronic stress causes cardio-vascular issues as as the INTERHEART study found across 52 countries and 15,000 people who experienced heart attacks and a similar number who had not, there was a strong correlation between chronic stress (such as workplace) and heart attacks which is greater than that of obesity
• Immunosuppression strength; real world application as Kiecolt-Glaser (1992) found that students who took a relaxation program during exams had better immune functioning than those who had not showing research can be used to develop programs that help individuals deal with stress in the real world
• Immunosuppression weakness; conflicting research as Dharbhar (2008) found stress may actually aid the immune response as when subjecting rats to minor stressors production of lymphocytes increased to protect the body from anticipated damage showing minor stressors may not have the same negative impact as major stressors displaying that the theory may not apply to all forms of stress HOWEVER this study has extreme ethical and extrapolation issues
• Cardio-Vascular disorders strength; research support as Song (2019) identified 130,000 people with stress related disorders and compared them to over a million people who did not have any and found that with stress disorders were 64% more likely to develop cardio-vascular disorders than those who did not HOWEVER this study is only correlational
• Cardio-vascular disorders weakness; the effects of stress on cardio-vascular disorders is seemingly indirect as Orth-Gomer (2000) found that marital stress tripled the risk of a heart attack in women who already suffered cardio-vascular disorders showing that stress does not cause cardio-vascular issues but simply worsens them HOWEVER this study has clear gender bias as it is gynocentric since it uses a sample of all female participants