Stress and Inflammation: How does stress relate to chronic disease

Stress is the body’s response to anything that threatens its balance, whether it’s physical, chemical or emotional. In today’s fast-paced world, chronic stress has become more common due to pressures from work, technology, and social competition.

When stress is short-term, the body activates systems like the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to release chemicals (like adrenaline and cortisol) that help us handle the situation—this is called allostasis. It’s a healthy, temporary reaction meant to protect us.

An individual suffering from chronic back pain frequently experiences discomfort, often due to inflammation.

But when stress continues over time, this system stays activated and leads to chronic inflammation, which can contribute to many serious health problems. Research now shows that inflammation may be a key link between chronic stress and diseases such as:

• Heart disease and high blood pressure

• Diabetes and fatty liver disease

• Depression, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s

• Some forms of cancer

Although traditional views focused mostly on stress hormones, more recent studies highlight inflammation as a major factor in how stress harms the body.

How Stress Triggers Inflammation in the Body and Brain

Stress affects more than just your mood—it can trigger inflammation in both the body and the brain. This happens through complex interactions between your nervous system, hormones, and immune system.

When you're stressed, your body activates the HPA axis, which releases cortisol (a stress hormone). Cortisol is meant to reduce inflammation, but under chronic stress, it can stop working effectively. In fact, long-term stress can cause cortisol to have pro-inflammatory effects, making your body more prone to illness and disease.

At the same time, stress also activates the sympathetic nervous system, which releases chemicals like norepinephrine that can increase the production of inflammatory substances.

The balance between helpful and harmful inflammation depends on the type and length of stress. Short-term (acute) stress may briefly boost immune function, but chronic stress over-activates the immune system, leading to long-term inflammation. This is linked to many conditions like heart disease, depression, and autoimmune issues.

In the brain, stress can activate microglia (immune cells in the brain), which release inflammatory signals. This process—called neuroinflammation—is associated with mood disorders and cognitive decline.

An illustration depicting how inflammation affects joints across the body, emphasizing possible regions of discomfort and pain.

Stress, Inflammation, and Disease

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection and helps maintain balance in the body. But when inflammation becomes too strong or lasts too long, it can lead to chronic health problems.

Recent research shows that excessive inflammation is a key factor in many stress-related diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, depression, and even cancer. In fact, inflammation is now seen as a common link between many different health conditions.

While many studies have explored stress, inflammation, and disease separately, few have looked at how all three are connected. Understanding this relationship can help explain how chronic stress increases the risk of serious health issues by fueling ongoing inflammation.

Stress, Inflammation, and Heart Disease

Chronic stress—from childhood trauma to adult work stress—raises the risk of heart disease. Stress can lead to inflammation, a key contributor to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and heart problems. Inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP are often elevated in people with high stress. Stress hormones (like norepinephrine and neuropeptide Y) may activate immune pathways that increase inflammation. This process promotes heart disease and may be influenced by the nervous system.

Stress, Inflammation, and Metabolic Disease

Stress can lead to unhealthy eating, obesity, and conditions like type 2 diabetes and non-alcohol related fatty liver disease. It also increases triglyceride levels and slows fat metabolism. Chronic stress promotes insulin resistance, especially when paired with inflammation. Stress hormones (like cortisol and norepinephrine) interfere with insulin and blood sugar control. Inflammation in fat and liver tissues further worsens metabolic health.

Inflammation is a known risk factor for 75-90% of all disease.

Stress, Inflammation, and Depression

Stress is a major trigger for depression, often through activation of the HPA axis and stress hormones. The “cytokine hypothesis” suggests that inflammation plays a role in depression. Stress increases cytokines, which can alter brain function and mood. Animal studies show that blocking inflammatory molecules can reduce depression-like symptoms.

Stress, Inflammation, and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Chronic stress and inflammation contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Inflammation increases the buildup of harmful proteins in the brain and damages dopamine-producing neurons. Stress worsens inflammation in the brain, potentially accelerating neurodegeneration.

Stress, Inflammation, and Cancer

Chronic stress can worsen cancer outcomes by promoting tumor growth and spread (metastasis). Stress hormones encourage cancer cell invasion and resistance. Targeting stress pathways may improve cancer treatment outcomes.

Stress shows up in many forms—physical, chemical, and emotional—and over time, it can silently fuel inflammation throughout the body. At Vitality Chiropractic, we take a whole-person approach to interrupt that cycle. Through our personalized health protocol, we support your body in healing at the cellular level, restoring balance from the inside out. Regular chiropractic adjustments improve spinal mobility and enhance the brain-body connection, creating clearer communication within your nervous system. We also offer archetypal consulting to help you uncover the deeper patterns behind your stress, so you can move forward with greater awareness and resilience.

At Vitality Chiropractic, Dr. Niccie gets to the root cause of your health concerns.

Chronic stress and inflammation are deeply connected and can quietly drive the onset of many long-term health conditions. At Vitality Chiropractic, we address this connection at its root—supporting your nervous system, enhancing cellular health, and empowering you with tools for emotional clarity and resilience. Through chiropractic care, personalized nutritional supplement protocols, and archetypal insight, we help your body not just cope with stress, but truly heal and thrive.

Reference:

Liu YZ, Wang YX, Jiang CL. Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases. Front Hum Neurosci. 2017 Jun 20;11:316. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00316. PMID: 28676747; PMCID: PMC5476783.