Can stress cause the immune system to malfunction? According to a new Swedish study, yes. Researchers have found that people with severe psychiatric disorders have an increased risk of developing an autoimmune disease.
Is intense stress involved in triggering autoimmune diseases? The question has tormented researchers for a long time. The latter have also devoted many works to him. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association seems to abound in this direction.
Carried out on a large cohort of 100,000 people, it established a link between psychiatric problems linked to stress and the development of autoimmune diseases. “Patients suffering from severe emotional reactions after trauma or other life stressors should seek medical attention due to the risk of these symptoms becoming chronic and, as a result, deterioration of their health, such as increased risk of autoimmune disease, ”says Dr Huan Song of the University of Iceland in Reykjavík and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in Sweden.
PTST victims on the front line
Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis appear when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body, incorrectly detecting foreign invaders, or antigens. The causes of autoimmune diseases are largely unknown, but researchers believe genetic, infectious, and environmental factors play a role.
Stress also plays a trigger role, now estimate the researchers, who analyzed the medical records of more than 106,000 people with stress-related psychiatric disorders between 1981 and 2013 in Sweden. Most suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They then compared their records to 120,000 of their siblings and nearly 1.1 million unrelated people who did not have stress-related disorders.
During the study, people with PTSD were 46% more likely to develop one of 41 autoimmune diseases, and more than twice as likely to develop at least three autoimmune disorders, compared to adults without the disorder. stress.
“Severe or prolonged emotional stress causes alterations in multiple bodily functions by deregulation in the release of stress hormones”, analyzes Dr Huan Song. However, the researchers note, the risk is not the same for all autoimmune diseases: the study found a higher risk of developing celiac disease and a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
Taking antidepressants reduces the risk
How to explain this causal link between stress and autoimmune disease? For the researchers, one of the explanations could be that a significant stressor in life can cause serious lifestyle changes, such as less sleep, more smoking and alcohol or drug addiction, less d physical exercise and poorer diet. These in turn can contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases.
However, it seems possible to reduce this risk. Thus, for patients with PTSD, taking serotonin-blocking antidepressants decreased the risk of developing autoimmune disease, which “strengthens the evidence for a potential causal link between stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease. -subsequent immunity “.
However, further research is needed. “We need more studies to shed light on the potential underlying mechanism of the association. For example by exploring potential genetic and environmental contributors and the effect of alternations in health-related behaviors,” Dr. Song, who stresses the importance of preventing autoimmune disorders in people with psychiatric disorders. “Based on our results, patients suffering from severe emotional reactions after trauma, or other life stressors, should seek medical attention to reduce the burden of their symptoms and thereby potentially reduce their risk. future of a further decline in their health. “
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