Correlations in Stress Disorders and Autoimmune Disease: A Review

Abstract

Stress disorders are broadly defined as emotional feelings of detachment or distress caused by a specific event or experience. These disorders can range from short-term ASD (acute stress disorder) to longer-term PTSD (post trauma stress disorder). Autoimmune disease is the inability of the immune system to recognize self vs non-self. Risk of autoimmune disease is shown to be higher in stress-disorder populations. Resulting evidence shows a strong correlation between ASD/PTSD and heightened chances of possessing an autoimmune disease.