In: Biology
In older adults, chronic stress increases the risk of chronic inflammation and metabolic syndrome because:
A. Chronic stress increases cortisol, which increases inflammation, which suppresses insulin signaling.
B. Chronic stress increases cortisol, which decreases inflammation, which stimulates insulin signaling.
C. Chronic stress decreases cortisol, which increases inflammation, which suppresses insulin signaling.
D. Chronic stress decreases cortisol, which decreases inflammation, which stimulates insulin signaling.
The correct answer is option A)Chronic stress increases cortisol, which increases inflammation, which suppresses insulin signaling.
Reason : Cortisol is called the stress hormone of the body. Anxiety and Stress causes adrenal glands to release Cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol increases the Blood Pressure and Heartbeat, which is a natural response to tackle Stress. So Chronic Stress increases the Cortisol levels a lot.
Now, the nature of Cortisol is anti-inflammatory. Cortisol is an anti-inflammatory hormine, which reduces the growth and proliferation of lymphocytes and accelerates their programmed cell death. But its dysfunction causes increase in inflammation level. High inflammation activates several proteins that suppress the signalling pathways of Insulin, thus causing decreased insulin sensitivity. Parallelly, Cortisol inhibits insulin production too.
Please do leave a thumbs up and an upvote if this answer really helped you :-)