Question

What is the relationship between stress and illness?
A. When stress causes the fight-or-flight response, it increases the body's ability to fight an illness
B. Stress can trigger illnesses, reduce the body's ability to fight an illness, and make some diseases harder to control
C. Prolonged stress can make a person tired, but it has no harmful effects on the immune system
D. The only relationship between stress and illness has to do with the effects of tension on blood pressure

Answer 1

B.

Chronic stress activates the HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system, raising cortisol and other mediators that impair immune function, increase inflammation, make infections and wound healing worse, and can exacerbate chronic diseases.