Interaction of Allostatic Load With Immune, Inflammatory, and Coagulation Systems

Abstract

Dysregulation of the immune system, as well as the endocrine, metabolic, and coagulation systems, has been linked to stress. The type of stressor (acute or chronic) may have a differential effect on immune function, with brief acute stress enhancing some parameters of immunity and chronic stress having a negative effect on many parameters of immune function. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic (sympathetic and parasympathetic) nervous systems mediate stress and immune functions. Exposure to frequent stressors can lead to repeated physiological arousal, failure to adapt to repeated stressors, failure to terminate the stress response after the stressor has ceased, and inadequate allostatic load to the stressor. The allostatic load provides an overall and body system-specific mechanistic relationship between stressor exposures and health outcomes that may explain minority health disparities. Multiple physiological systems interact at differing levels of activity in this condition. Principally, the severity of allostatic load is determined by using biomarkers of numerous body systems that depict physiological disturbances. There is a substantial connection between stress, immune function, inflammation, and coagulation. Consequently, immune/inflammatory/coagulation biomarkers may play crucial roles in the calculation of allostatic load, and the recommendation of additional biomarkers may improve the estimation accuracy of allostatic load.