What is the Origin of Sustained Stress Endocrine Effects?

This term is derived from the work on allostasis and allostatic load, focusing on the cumulative physiological price of chronic adaptation to stress. It moves beyond the acute "fight or flight" response to describe the enduring pathological state that results from the body's inability to return to baseline homeostasis. It is a critical concept in lifestyle medicine and endocrinology for understanding chronic disease etiology.

What is the Mechanism of Sustained Stress Endocrine Effects?

Chronic stress leads to persistent over-activation of the HPA axis, resulting in chronically elevated cortisol levels, which can eventually lead to tissue insensitivity or HPA axis exhaustion. This sustained hypercortisolism disrupts insulin sensitivity, promotes visceral fat deposition, and suppresses the HPG and HPT axes, leading to hypogonadism and subclinical hypothyroidism. The chronic inflammatory state induced by this hormonal dysregulation further exacerbates systemic pathology.

Sustained Stress Endocrine Effects ∞ Area

Sustained Stress Endocrine Effects

Meaning

Sustained stress endocrine effects encompass the long-term, maladaptive changes in hormonal secretion and feedback mechanisms resulting from chronic, unremitting psychological or physiological stressors. These effects involve chronic dysregulation of the HPA, HPG, and HPT axes, leading to systemic consequences beyond the initial stress response. Clinically, this chronic hormonal imbalance contributes to metabolic syndrome, immune dysfunction, and accelerated aging, indicating a failure of allostasis.