Running head: THE IMPACT OF EVERYDAY STRESSORS

The Impact of Everyday Stressors on the Immune System and Health

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Introduction

There are numerous causes of stress, from major life events such as the death of a close

friend or family member, to the small ordinances of life such as being stuck in traffic. These

events or stimuli are referred as stressors and they produce the stress response. The stressors that

people might ignore have proven to play a critical role in their health and general wellbeing.

Research has shown that there is a link between psychological stress and immune system

outcomes, such as wound healing, inflammatory processes, and response to infections. Different

people have different abilities in coping with stressful life events as well as their perception of

stress. These differences in the ability to handle stressful life events can influence the level to

which stressors negatively affect the individual's immune system. The current paper is a

discussion of the key findings that link everyday stressors to an individual’s immune system and

overall wellbeing. It also explores the mechanism through which extreme stress coupled with

increased inflammation could lead to serious health problems such as heart diseases, cancer, and

diabetes, among others.

The Effect of Stress on the Immune System

Stress is a broad concept that is made of the stressors as well as the stress responses.

Folkman (2011) defines a stressor as any event that is beyond the individual’s coping abilities

and the stress response as how the individual responds either physiologically or psychologically

to these stressful events. Immunity is simply defined as the body’s ability to resist diseases,

infections, or invasion by bacteria or viruses. Consequently, the immune system is one of the

body systems that respond to challenging circumstances that cause stress. The immune system is

made up of the cells, proteins, organs, and tissues that function to protect the body against

diseases and damage. When an individual experiences acute stress that only lasts short while
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some cells are released into the bloodstream for the purpose of preparing the body to protect

itself during that fight or flight moment (Steptoe et al., 2007). Acute stress also leads to an

increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine in the bloodstream.

Chronic stress, which is stress that lasts for an extended period, also leads to an increase

in blood levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine, but the health outcomes are different. Short term

inflammation is important for the body because it serves the purpose of killing pathogens and

also initiating the process of healing. However, chronic inflammation causes dysregulation of the

immune system, and could potentially lead to health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

An added potential impact of chronic stress is the activation of viruses that were dormant n the

body. When latent viruses become active again, this is a signal that the body has lost

immunological control over the virus. Also, the immune system is weakened when there is

frequent activation of latent viruses.

It is important to note that these responses are not the same for everyone. For instance,

research has shown that the immune system of individuals who experienced early life stress is

likely to have a higher reaction to stressful events (McEwen, 2012). Early life stress is stress that

occurs when the child is still developing towards adulthood and is associated with

immunological dysregulation. Causes of early life stress include poverty, bullying, or even

sexual abuse. Early life stress puts such individuals at a heightened risk of chronic inflammation

and the potential diseases that come with it (McEwen, 2012). The relationship between early-life

stress and the immune system is important as it also has an impact on aging and longevity.

The Link Between Stress and Wound Healing

There is increasing evidence that stress compromises immunity, which in turn hinders

wound healing. The healing of wounds is a critical process that determines people's recovery
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from injuries and even after surgery (Gethin, 2012). When the process of wound healing is slow,

it predisposes the individual to adverse outcomes such as infection of the wound discomfort, a

longer stay in the hospital, and a delay in returning to their normal daily activities.

Wound repair happens in overlapping stages that involve processes such as inflammation,

cell proliferation, and regeneration. Wound healing depends on cellular immunity that enables

the generation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines which are involved in the repair

of damaged tissues (Čarapina, 2015). They attract both phagocytes and cells to the area with a

wound injury, thus beginning the proliferation process (Čarapina, 2015). Healing cannot happen

without inflammation occurring first. Pro-inflammatory cytokines play the role of protecting the

injured tissue against infection, and preparing it for repair by attracting and activating

phagocytes. Therefore, stress has a negative effect on would repair since it prevents the

production of these pro-inflammatory cytokines and also dysregulates them, causing delays in

the repair of injured tissue.

Impaired wound healing has adverse clinical outcomes for the affected individual. For

instance, surgical complications that are a result of slow wound healing speed are a leading cause

of psychological distress, anxiety, and depression. In addition, the pain that an individual with a

wound experiences could also contribute to psychological distress, which itself hinders would

healing (Gethin, 2012). It is therefore important for members of the care team to address the

psychological needs of patients in a timely manner, which could prevent a disruption of the

normal functioning of the immune system due to stress.

The Link Between Stress and Infectious Agents

According to Lambert et al. (2012), stress can impair the ability of body fluids and body

cells to respond to pathogens, thus increasing the risk of the individual contracting diseases such
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as influenza and the common cold. Numerous studies have demonstrated the link between stress

and higher susceptibility to common cold because stress reduces the individual’s ability to resist

infections, and also increases the rates of infection (Murdock et al., 2016). Individuals who are

vaccinated against the influenza virus are at a reduced risk of hospitalization or death because

vaccines reduce the severity of the illness. Vaccination is emphasized for certain high-risk

groups such as pregnant women and the old. However, the efficiency of the antiviral vaccine

depends on the ability of the immune system to respond to the virus.

Studies investigating the effect of psychological stress on Human immunodeficiency

virus (HIV) have also shown that it leads to further progression of the disease. A study by Reilly

et al. (2009) showed that the condition of HIV patients who also had post-traumatic stress

disorder worsened much faster compared to those who did not psychological stress. This is

because stress increases the level of viral load count as well as the cd4 cell count. These are

important biological markers of HIV, which determine its progression. HIV patients have much

lower levels of T cells which are important in fighting infection. Consequently, chronic stress

that also leads to reduced immunity is a major threat to these individuals as it further weakens

their ability to fight other diseases.

The Link Between Stress and Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease is cited as a major contributor to increased rates of morbidity and

mortality around the world. Chronic inflammation as a result of psychological stress is one of the

factors that lead to a build-up of fats and cholesterol in blood veins (Liu et al., 2017). In the

investigation of the link between stress and cardiovascular disease, it is important to note that

stress often occurs alongside unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, and

tobacco use. Research shows that individuals who work in stressful jobs have elevated levels of
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serum CRP, IL-6, as well as cardiovascular disease (Kivimaki & Kawachi, 2015). Further

evidence suggests that early life stress such as physical and sexual abuse, increases the risk for

cardiovascular disease, especially among women (Garad et al., 2017). Findings from these

studies support the hypothesis that psychological stress linked with the occurrence of

cardiovascular disease.

The Link Between Stress and Aging

As people grow older, they are less able to mount an appropriate immune response to

stressors. Aged people are generally less able to deal with physical stressors such as injuries, as

well as psychological stressors such as caregiving. According to Morey et al. (2015)

“psychological stress affects organisms in a manner similar to the effects of chronological age

and chronological aging coupled with chronic stress accelerates immunological aging.”

Additionally, there is evidence to show that old people are unable to stop the production of

cortisol which helps in responding to stress. Although cortisol is anti-inflammatory, when

produced in excess it makes the immune system resistant, leads to elevated levels of stress

hormones and an increase in the production of inflammatory cytokines, all of which weaken the

immune response. It is common to find old people taking care of an old and ailing partner and

this duty of providing care has been linked with a lower level of antibodies and poor immune

response after vaccination (Wong et al., 2012). Old people who are providing care also

experience slower wound repair, higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a higher risk

of reactivation of latent viruses (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2014). These findings suggest that

psychological stress may accelerate aging.

The Link Between Stress and Cancer

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Psychosocial factors such as stress, depression and lack of social support are linked with

the progression of tumors (Song et al., 2016). Chronic stress increases inflammation and

dysregulates protective immune responses and therefore increases the risk of certain types of

cancer since it suppresses type 1 cytokines as well as protective T cells (Dhabhar, 2014). Also,

according to Song et al., (2016) the immune system has a critical role to play in the development

and further progression of tumors that can be prevented by the immune system such as skin

cancer. This is supported by evidence that shows that immunosuppression such as in a HIV

patient is linked with the development of immunogenic tumors such as non-melanoma skin

cancer. This demonstrates that chronic stress has the potential to dysregulate immune responses

that target tumors, and lead to the occurrence and progression of forms of cancer that could

otherwise have been prevented.

Conclusion

This paper shows that stress affects the immune system and how it responds to infections,

resistance to diseases, and invasion by bacteria and viruses. Chronic stress has been implicated in

changing the immune response to many diseases. This happens when pro-inflammatory cytokine

levels increase in the blood, leading to higher rates of inflammation, which causes a

dysregulation of the immune system. The impact stress has on immunity could also have adverse

effects on clinical health. The alterations in immune functioning brought about by chronic stress

can lead to more severe symptoms of both physical and psychological illnesses. For instance, this

paper shows that chronic stress can enhance the risk of contracting autoimmune diseases. In HIV

patients, psychological stress increases the viral load count as well as the cd4 cell count which

are important biomarkers for the progression of the disease. Both physical and psychological

stress contributes to aging, which has a negative impact on the person's general wellbeing and
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quality of life. Stress also increases inflammation and alters protective immune responses, which

could allow for the development and progression of immunogenic types of cancer.

These negative outcomes are a clear demonstration of the link between chronic stress,

suppression of the immune system, and the individual’s health. These negative outcomes are

also a call for people to practice stress management since stress is inevitable in life. With all

life’s minor and major stresses, establishing a management routine is crucial to living a

productive and positive life. There are many ways to reduce stress that can easily be incorporated

into a daily routine. Exercise, relaxation, meditation and finding a good social support system are

all common and easy to implement strategies that can help in reducing and managing stress.
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References

Čarapina, I. (2015). Psychological Stress and Wound Healing. Gyrus, 3(2), 81-85.

https://doi.org/10.17486/gyr.3.1019

Dhabhar, F. (2014). Effects of stress on immune function: the good, the bad, and the

beautiful. Immunologic Research, 58(2-3), 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-014-

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Folkman, S. (2011). The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping. Oxford University

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Liu, Y., Wang, Y., & Jiang, C. (2017). Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related

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