The mind and chronic inflammation
Recent research has revealed that certain social, environmental and lifestyle factors, including psychological stress, can promote systemic chronic inflammation that can, in turn, lead to diseases that represent the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders [Furman et al., 2019]. The association between chronic disease and inflammation is widely recognized. Healthcare systems are buckling due to the cost of treating a worldwide population burdened by these chronic health problems.
Psychological stress also leads to inflammation in the brain. This can impact the regulation of mood and cognition, with possible connections to Alzheimer’s disease.
Psychological stress induces many of the same inflammatory signals as injury and disease. This raises questions: How and why does mental stress activate inflammation?
Related Posts
Lisa for Pandemic Preparedness
The blogs “Mind on Infections“ and “Why Subconceptual Influences on Infections Matter Most“ explore how stress and deeper mental processes affect the body’s ability to fight infections. The present blog ties these insights together to explain how preparing for the next viral pandemic should go beyond the physical and include deeper mental layers. By integrating Read the full article…
Self-Tolerance in Body and Mind with Focus on the Immune
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine honors the discovery of how our immune system learns not to attack the self. This is a reflection of something deeply human — the art of living peacefully with oneself. Just as the body needs self-tolerance to stay healthy, the mind needs inner harmony to remain whole and balanced. Read the full article…
Psychological impact on infections
In a prospective study with a hundred subjects, it was concluded that stressful events in life four times more frequently preceded than followed throat infections that had or had not been caused by streptococci [Meyer et al., 1962]. A large number of control-variables (under which sex, family size, history of allergies) showed no correlation with Read the full article…