Round 1 of Research: Does the inflammation caused by the stress response have this effect on the organs within the digestive system? Is this where we see the negative effects?
Inflammation is known to be one of the detrimental effects of chronic stress. This starts to become a problem when the stress boils over and starts to affect an important bodily system responsible for processing fuel, when sub-optimal, it is bound to have negative effects on brain health. This question focusses on whether the inflammatory aspect of stress serves as the culprit for the digestive issues brought on by this physiological detriment.
Any physical or physiological response to stimuli that actively disrupts homeostasis results in a stress response (Chu et al., 2019). The stimuli are said to be the stressors, while the reaction thereafter is known as the stress response (Chu et al., 2019). The stress response can be mediated through the nervous, endocrine, immune, and hypothalamic-pituitary mechanisms to prepare the body for a challenge and best equip it with the ability to overcome that challenge (Chu et al., 2019). Not all forms of stress are detrimental, as social interactions can often create what looks like a stress response when the effect of this is quite the opposite (Chu et al., 2019). Nonetheless, the type of stress referred to in this inquiry is the problematic kind; chronic stress, which occurs when stress persists over an extended period (Chu et al., 2019).
Functional gastrointestinal disorders unfortunately affect somewhere between 35 and 70% of people at some point of life, with women being affected much more often than men (Friedman, 2019) However, much of the time, these disorders don’t have a blatant physical cause; instead, they wreak havoc based off subconscious physiological responses (Friedman, 2019). Numerous studies have concluded that stress may be a particularly important factor when trying to pinpoint where these issues arise (Friedman, 2019). The relationship between environmental/physiological stress as a means of causing gastrointestinal distress is extremely complex and hard to draw conclusions from (Friedman, 2019).
Exposure to stress alters the critical “brain-gut interaction” via the brain gut axis (Konturek et al., 2011). This may ultimately lead to gastrointestinal disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and many other diseases of the digestive tract (Konturek et al., 2011). The major signs of stress leading to abdominal discomfort come in the form of exuding any one/combination of these symptoms: alterations in gastrointestinal motility, increased visceral perception, and blood in the stool (Konturek et al., 2011). It is important to understand that there are numerous effects that start in the mind, further wreaking havoc on the body if not properly dealt with (Konturek et al., 2011).
The unfortunate fact is that gastrointestinal disruptions causing stress can become a vicious cycle (Torosian, 2021). Experiencing these negative digestive symptoms for long periods of time can make you even more stressed, intensifying symptoms unknowingly and detrimentally (Torosian, 2021). According to Dr. Torosian, it is important to note that stress doesn’t definitively cause these diseases (or at least there isn’t enough research currently available to back that claim), but we do know that stress intensifies these symptoms (Torosian, 2021). Correlation doesn’t always equate to causation, but a history of stress and trauma is said to cause the underlying diseases of irritable bowel syndrome (a relatively minor disease in comparison to the rest when we look at the gastrointestinal tract ailments) (Torosian, 2021).
References
- (Friedman, 2019) ‘Stress and The Sensitive Gut – Harvard Health Publishing’. Harvard Health, 1 Aug. 2010, https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut.
- (Konturek et al., 2011) Konturek PC, Brzozowski T, Konturek SJ. Stress and the gut: pathophysiology, clinical consequences, diagnostic approach and treatment options. J Physiol Pharmacol. 2011 Dec;62(6):591-9. PMID: 22314561.
- (Torosian, 2021) How Stress Affects Digestion—And What You Can Do About It. https://www.henryford.com/blog/2021/07/how-stress-affects-digestion. Accessed 8 Mar. 2025.
- (Chu et al., 2024) Chu, Brianna, et al. ‘Physiology, Stress Reaction’. StatPearls, StatPearls Publishing, 2025. PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/
