Definition
The term “stress-related disorders” is used in various ways in the scientific literature. A narrow definition includes conditions that are clearly caused by stress. Consequentially, merely a handful of (mental) disorders (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder) are deemed eligible for this label. By contrast, a broad definition includes all illnesses that are somehow adversely impacted by stress. This can mean that stress is involved in the predisposition, precipitation, and/or perpetuation of a particular condition. Given that stress exerts negative effects on numerous bodily systems (e.g., the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system) and on health behaviors (e.g., eating, physical activity, substance use), virtually all mental disorders and a large proportion of somatic diseases can be classified as stress-related disorders according to this definition.
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References and Further Readings
APA. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington D.C.: APA.
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Kivimaki, M., Jokela, M., Nyberg, S. T., Singh-Manoux, A., Fransson, E. I., Alfredsson, L., et al. (2015). Long working hours and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis of published and unpublished data for 603,838 individuals. Lancet, 386(10005), 1739–1746. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60295-1.
Koenen, K. C., Ratanatharathorn, A., Ng, L., McLaughlin, K. A., Bromet, E. J., Stein, D. J., et al. (2017). Posttraumatic stress disorder in the world mental health surveys. Psychological Medicine, 47(13), 2260–2274. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291717000708.
WHO. (2018a). Global Health estimates 2016: Deaths by cause, age, sex, by country and by region (pp. 2000–2016). Geneva: WHO.
WHO. (2018b). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th revision). Retrieved from https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en.
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Fischer, S., Nater, U.M. (2019). Stress-Related Disorders. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101900-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_101900-1
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