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About the Authors:
Anders Joergensen
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Kasper Broedbaek
Affiliations Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology Q7642, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Allan Weimann
Affiliations Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology Q7642, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
Richard D. Semba
Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Luigi Ferrucci
Affiliation: Longitudinal Studies Section, Clinical Research Branch, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
Martin B. Joergensen
Affiliation: Psychiatric Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Henrik E. Poulsen
Affiliations Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology Q7642, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Introduction
Modern biomedical research has shed light on the popular notion that psychological stress has a negative influence on health and accelerates aging. Prolonged stress is thought to induce a “wear and tear” syndrome, in which a range of compensatory physiological mechanisms as well as behavioural changes leads to negative health influences [1]. For example, it is well established that chronic stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease [2]. Stress may also have atrophic effects in distinct areas of the brain [3], induce immunosuppression, and contribute to the progression of some kinds of cancer [4]. Stress-related mental disorders such as depression are associated with an increased non-suicide mortality [5].
The central link between prolonged psychological stress, aging, and disease, is suspected to be chronic elevations of cortisol and other stress hormones. Where the acute cortisol response to stress is necessary for survival, psychological stress associated with prolonged hypercortisolism supposedly leads to a state of stable dysregulation that is detrimental to health over time [1]. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms have yet to be elucidated [6]. One possibility is that the combined effects of cortisol lead to increased oxidative stress, in which the mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) exceeds the antioxidant potential, thereby causing damage to other molecules such as lipids, proteins and DNA/RNA. Oxidative stress, in particular the oxidatively generated damage to DNA, has been suggested to be a central mediator of aging [7], [8].
In animal studies, psychological stress and exogenous corticosteroid administration...