Stress-Associated Cognitive Impairments amongst Faculty of a Southern Nigeria University: Investigating the Effects of Perceived Stress on Cognition Scores

Abstract

BackgroundStress is of multi-factorial origin physiological, physical or psychological [1][2][3]] and triggers a central cascade according to Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome, which was criticised for using physical stressors [2]. John Mason set to correct this by deducing psychological stressors that potentially override physical stressors and highlighted cardinal features of a putative stressor as being novel, unpredictable, show feeling of lack of control over the situation and/or a threat to a socially evaluative situation [2].Stress describes the infinite spectrum of demands [2,3] and the comprehensive response to demands [4] on man. Absolute stressors always elicit the stress response, unlike relative stressors that do so at times; a phenomenon exploited where some stressors are perceived as non-stressful [2].Stress triggers the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, ultimately elaborating glucocorticoids and adrenaline [2,3,5] which increase blood glucose, peripheral vascular resistance, cardiac inotropy and chronotropy, amongst other Retrospective Cohort Study