Other conditions linked to stress

HEART DISEASE

STUDIeS have suggested that stress can increase the chance of heart disease and of having a heart attack, and scientists are just starting to understand why.

Last year a study by harvard Medical School that assessed 29 doctors after a busy week in intensive care found their white blood cells count was high. Other studies have suggested that white blood cells can rupture fatty deposits in the artery walls, which can lead to a heart attack.

COLDS

COLD symptoms are caused by the immune system’s inflammatory response to the cold virus.

The stress hormone cortisol temporarily dampens down this response so your cold symptoms aren’t so obvious. however, if you’re chronically stressed you become less sensitive to cortisol, so the inflammatory response increases and you end up with a full- on cold, according to 2012 research reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

GUT DISORDERS

STreSS can alter the rate at which food and waste travel through the system, and change gut secretions. It can make the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome or indigestion worse. GOrD — gastrointestinal reflux, when stomach contents rise back up the gullet — can also be triggered by stress.

SKIN COMPLAINTS

STreSS is a known trigger for skin complaints such as psoriasis, eczema and acne, as it encourages inflammation which makes these conditions worse.