OT: How stress makes us ill

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

I guess I have to accept that stress can get to us. My local paper just

published the results of a study at Ohio State showing that stress increases

blood levels of a chemical, Interleukin-6, that's " associated with several

diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis[!], type 2 diabetes,

and certain cancers. " My guess is that if it affects arthritis, it probably also

affects Graves'.

The study followed caregivers of spouses with dementia (they were about age 70

at the time and more than half died during the six-year study). They were under

constant stress, but " Researchers said even a short-term stressful event like an

argument can lead to changes in the body's disease-fighting immune system. "

To make things worse, the researchers pointed out, people under stress try to

relieve it by doing things that increase the levels of this harmful

chemical--smoking, overeating, lack of exercise and sleep. The article was

reported by the Associated Press; the researchers are Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and

Glaser; findings appeared this week in Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences.

Best wishes,

B.