Emotional Impact; the magic bullet in influencing chronic diseases

Emotional stress is considered a potential contributor to chronic disease although its exact role is not clear. The involvement of psychological factors in the etiology of chronic diseases is of interest to the scientific community. It leads to the increased investigation on the neuropsychological correlates of a number of chronic diseases. The most common chronic somatic diseases (namely, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, oncological diseases and skin diseases) are often complicated by psychological symptoms or personal emotional/psychological grief, which underscores the close association that exists between these conditions. Whereas acute stressors (lasting minutes) were associated with potential adaptive up-regulation and down-regulation of some specific innate immune parameters, chronic stressors were also associated with suppression of both cellular and humeral measures. A number of studies have shown that personality traits and implicit emotion regulation are associated with the development, progression, frequency, and severity of chronic disease. This review provides a brief overview to investigate the impact of stress on some chronic diseases for instance; cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and skin diseases.