Round 3 of Research: Are the negative effects of stress on the digestive system exemplified with age? At what age are we most resilient to the negative outcomes of stress?
It is common sense to deduce the conclusion that humans become less resilient as they age. However, old habits die hard and when issues are left untreated, they compound over time. To my knowledge, stress must be one of the issues that worsen as aging dawns on us, and with age making us inevitably less resilient, this turns into major health issues down the road. Additionally, there must be a peak age of resilience, one where stressors hardly affect our day-to-day life. This finding is applicable to many other scientific theses, one I am determined to parse through research to find, decode, and foster future inquiry questions that will improve life in many ways.
It has been found that the serotonin released in response to stress elicits increased colon motility by triggering receptors within the colon (Yaribeygi et al., 2017). It has also been suggested psychological stressors additionally confound to the activation of mucosal cells within the gut (Yaribeygi et al., 2017). In any case, stress that inherently stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS) directly affects the GI-tracts’ specific nervous system (Yaribeygi et al., 2017). There is also a brain-bowel axis that may become irritated when the body must allocate its resources to fighting the potential threat (Yaribeygi et al., 2017). An increasingly large body of evidence points to the fact that stress exacerbates irritable bowel syndrome, inflammation within the intestinal cavity, and even causes peptic ulcers (Yaribeygi et al., 2017).
Stress has also been found to have a more pertinent effect on inflammatory bowel disease as the individual ages (CDC, 2024). Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a group of lifelong diseases that attack the intestines (CDC, 2024). It occurs when the body’s’ natural defense system against foreign mechanisms of the gut starts to attack the healthy mechanisms within the gut; mistakenly (CDC, 2024). As a result, this creates a swollen state, inflammation that often does not go away on its own (CDC, 2024). Research points to a greater load of stressful day to day events as being positively correlated with age; thus, exacerbating the destruction to the GI tract as one gets older (CDC, 2024).
As humans age, many physiological changes come about, directly affecting our digestive system (Ganesh, 2024). It is imperative that we understand what our aging body needs to keep all systems functioning healthily (Ganesh, 2024). With age comes a decrease in digestive enzymes, a crucial component in breaking down both food and nutrients to supply the body with energy and vitality (Ganesh, 2024). This decreases gastrointestinal efficiency, meaning it may take our bodies longer to break down food and absorb nutrients correctly (Ganesh, 2024). Slower digestive tract travel duration refers to the speed at which food moves through the body, starting at the mouth and ending at the anus (Ganesh, 2024).
In the medical world, the concept of resilience refers to one’s ability to deal with the alterations of homeostasis when the stress response is elicited in the human body (Majnaric et al., 2021). As aging occurs, an individual becomes much more sensitive to the impacts of the environment, potentially even more susceptible to the negative effects that come along with that (Majnaric et al., 2021). Mental disturbance that is marked by a decline in physiological resilience is extremely pronounced in older individuals (particularly those within the age range of 60-80) but is also more generally associated with poor health (Majnaric et al., 2021). The findings are quite distinct, presenting a stark contrast with younger populations, particularly with regards to the topic of resilience (Majnaric et al., 2021). All in all, decreased physiological resilience makes older populations more susceptible to digestive issues with respect to physiological stress.
References
- (Yaribeygi et al., 2017) Yaribeygi, H., Panahi, Y., Sahraei, H., Johnston, T. P., & Sahebkar, A. (2017). The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI journal, 16, 1057–1072. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-480
- (CDC, 2024) CDC. ‘Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Basics’. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), 19 July 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/inflammatory-bowel-disease/about/index.html.
- (Ganesh, 2024) Ramalingam, Dr Ganesh. ‘Digestive Health and Ageing: How to Maintain Gut Health as You Age’. G & L Surgical, 4 July 2024, https://www.glsurgical.com.sg/digestive-health-and-ageing-how-to-maintain-gut-health-as-you-age/.
- (Majnaric et al., 2021) Majnarić, L. T., Bosnić, Z., Guljaš, S., Vučić, D., Kurevija, T., Volarić, M., Martinović, I., & Wittlinger, T. (2021). Low Psychological Resilience in Older Individuals: An Association with Increased Inflammation, Oxidative Stress and the Presence of Chronic Medical Conditions. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(16), 8970. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22168970
- Digestive Disorders: Types, Symptoms, Treatment. 19 Jan. 2021, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/list-of-digestive-disorders.
