The many roles that women are expected to play, and play with perfection, not only raise their levels of cortisol but also suppress the production of natural killer cells, thus compromising their immunity and leaving them with greater susceptibility to a variety of health concerns.
Stress is induced by a difficult situation or a challenging incident, known as a stressor, to which the body responds either physiologically or psychologically. This is stress response, and while in the short term this can temporarily strengthen immunity and promote protection during infection; contrast, chronic stress inhibits immune functions. Chronic stress causes an increase in cortisol levels ultimately suppressing the immune response.
Women, more than men, experience an overwhelming mix of physical, emotional, and psychological stresses that emanate from a variety of roles they are expected to play in society. Having to juggle family responsibilities, cope with job requirements, battle gender bias, or deal with biological requirements, has a heavy negative impact on their immune systems.
The greatest stressor for women is the constant pressure to achieve high, frequently unrealistic, expectations from their families as well as the society around them. They are subjected to multi-directional stress—family, in-laws, workplace, and society. They are required to excel professionally while playing the role of caregivers- including childbearing, child-rearing, or taking care of elderly relatives. Such multidimensional obligations can leave women with little space to focus on their own health.
Chronic stress upends both physical and mental well-being. Women are more susceptible to conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, obesity, and even different cancers. Significantly, more women than men lose lives each year to heart disease, though it is underdiagnosed and undertreated in women.
The impact on mental health is equally dramatic. Women are twice as likely to become depressed and anxious as men are, and they are caused, if not exacerbated, by stress.
Stress over long periods of time provoke a series of biological reactions in the body that actively destroy immunity. One of the most important stress-mediated shifts is an elevation of cortisol, one of the hormones secreted with the body's fight-or-flight mechanism. Elevated cortisol over time dampens immune system function by preventing the production of white blood cells and suppressing the function of natural killer (NK) cells. These are cells that are vital in protecting the body from infection and cancerous cell growth. Their suppression is a prime factor in decreased immunity.
Stress also affects the precarious equilibrium of bacteria in the gut, which is instrumental in creating a healthy immune system. Altered gut microbiota (range of microorganisms) due to stress can weaken the immune response and make women vulnerable to disease and infections.
Hormonal changes, especially those of the menstrual cycle, also make women's immune systems more difficult to manage. Some parts of the cycle, particularly post-ovulation, are linked with reduced immune function, placing women at greater risk of disease and infection. Women have also been found to become more susceptible to disease by the hormone progesterone, the level of which increases after ovulation.
The stress of handling more than one task tends to cause inadequate rest, poor diet, and inadequate time for self-grooming, which further heightens the threats of chronic stress. This also makes women susceptible to lifestyle disorders like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, as well as repeated infections.
Diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and lupus disproportionately occur in women.
Dr Madhusudan Singh Solanki, Senior Psychiatrist and Head, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital (Saket), New Delhi said that the peak of social, cultural, and biological stressors renders women uniquely susceptible to health issues caused by stress.
While the usual prescriptions - taking out time for self-care, balanced diet, regular exercise and good sleep, help - are there, he emphasises that women must speak out about what they require, ask for help when help is needed, and cease placing other people's needs ahead of theirs.
Women should stop being glorified as superheroes, and their health must be accorded equal importance as the needs of others.
