Stress and Allergic Diseases

Abstract

Summary Allergy describes a constellation of clinical diseases that affect up to 30% of the world’s population. It is characterized by production of allergen specific IgE which bind to mast cells and initiate a cascade of molecular and cellular events that affect the respiratory tract (rhinitis and asthma) skin (dermatitis, urticaria) and multi systems (anaphylaxis) to a variety of allergens including pollens, mold spores, animal danders, insect stings, foods and drugs. The underlying pathophysiology involves immunoregulatory dysfunctions similar to those noted in highly stressed populations. The relationships in terms of potentials for intervention are discussed.

An herbal therapeutic approach to food intolerance and immune dysfunction: An illustrative case history

“…The immune dysfunction seen in allergic patients shows an underlying pathophysiology similar to those noted in highly stressed populations (Dave et al, 2011).…”

Concealing Emotions at Work Is Associated with Allergic Rhinitis in Korea

“…Ultimately, these alterations in Th cell count can cause allergic disease (Montoro et al 2009). This allergic reaction is considered a mechanism of many allergic diseases (Dave et al 2011).…”

“…Fourth, classification of AR was made based on the self-reported question "Have you been diagnosed with AR by a doctor?" Although this method might introduce errors such as recall bias, many epidemiological studies have confirmed the presence or absence of AR using this method (Schatz et al 2008;Dave et al 2011;Abong et al 2012). Additionally, although AR varies considerably in terms of severity and type, we investigated it without classification.…”

Social networks and bronchial asthma

“…In addition to the pathological cellular and molecular immune processes, evidence also suggests that psychological processes contribute to the regulation of airway inflammation and clinical expression of disease severity in asthma. Some immunoregolatory dysfunctions are even similar in allergic diseases and stressed population [24]. There is also good evidence that genes involved in the stress and inflammatory response may affect asthma expression [25].…”